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Igniting a Passion for LearningThe I-SS Journey to Excellence
Dr. Terry Holliday, Superintendent
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I-SS Background
• Fired superintendent• Budget problems• Low student achievement• Low community expectations• Low trust – community and staff• Low morale• Excellent staff
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Board Expectations
• System Leadership– Systems approach– Continuous improvement focus– Learning centered focus– Innovation focus– Process management focus– Top Ten vision
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The Clash
• Leadership Beliefs vs. Existing Culture– Problems are system based vs. people based– Learning system vs. teaching system– Data driven decisions vs. decisions made with regard
to tradition– Innovation vs. status quo
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I-SS Baldrige Journey
• Foundation for Leadership– Leadership passion and commitment for learning– Leadership basic beliefs– Change management process– Baldrige Criteria as blueprint, framework and
measure
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Passion for Learning
• All children come to school with a yearning for learning. Our aim should be to increase the positives and decrease the negatives so all children keep their yearning for learning.
Edward Deming
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Leadership Beliefs – System vs. People
• If children are not learning at high levels, the adults have not done their part– Parents have not created a system of encouragement
and support for learning
– Teachers have teaching centered classrooms rather than learning centered classrooms
– Principals have created adult centered schools rather than learning centered schools
– Superintendents and school boards have created adult centered school systems rather than learning centered systems
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Leadership Beliefs
• The vast majority of adults want the best for children and want children to be successful
• No one comes to work everyday and wants to fail• A passion for learning exists in all of us• The level above must enable the level below
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Michael Fullan, Turnaround Leadership, 2007
Repeating Behavior Changes
• You are more likely to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting
• Start with small behavior changes tied to systemic and systematic processes
• Early successes
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Modeling Expectations: Listening Process
• Three Questions– What is getting in the way of student learning?– What do you need to help all children learn to
high levels?– What do you expect from me as superintendent?
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Modeling by Leadership
• Use of Quality Tools– Issue Bin
– Affinity Chart
– Light Voting
– Budget Alignment
• Plan Do Study Act Cycle– Attendance
• Early Success
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What We Learned
• External Blame• Complacency• No Sense of Urgency
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What We Learned
• At every crossway on the road that leads to the future each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men appointed to guard the past.
Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian Nobel Laureate
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Creating Conditions for Change That Will Last
• What DOES NOT Work– Facts alone
– Fear
– Force
Sense of Urgency, John Kotter
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Change or Die, Alan Deutschman
Creating Conditions for Change That Will Last
• What DOES Work– Relationships
– Repeating small behavior changes
– Reframing beliefs
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Belief and Expectations are Fundamental
• Pygmalion Effect– If we expect our actions to have an impact on student
learning then we will impact student learning
– If we do not think our actions can overcome impact of student demographics on learning then we will not impact student learning
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Sense of Urgency, John Kotter
Creating a Sense of Urgency
• Bring outside in – Baldrige Feedback• Listen to employees who interact directly with
customers (students) – Workforce Focus• Publish results of listening – Knowledge
Management• Public display of results - Results
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Results from 2002 to 2008 (NC Rank)
•Academic Composite 55th to 9th
•Graduate Rate 53rd to 11th (61% to 81%)
•SAT 57th to 7th (991 to 1056)
•3-8 Reading 75th to 20th
•3-8 Math 68th to 12th
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Results from 2002 to 2008
•Reading Gap AA reduced by 48%
•Reading Gap EC reduced by 53%
•Computer Skills 68% to 90%
•Dropout Rate 106th to 10th
•Attendance Rate 55th to 3rd
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Results from 2002 to 2008
Other areas of improvement – bus discipline, energy savings, faith based partners, highly qualified teachers, overtime costs, child nutrition costs, maintenance, custodial, workmen’s compensation ratio, fund balance, credit recovery
Expenditures per Pupil – remain in NC bottom 10 $700 below state average
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My Challenge to You
• Believe in the children
• Believe in yourself
• Believe in your leaders
• Don’t give up on the children
• Don’t give up on yourself
• Don’t give up on your leaders
• Don’t give up on education
• Model the change that you want to see and by working together, the messengers we send forward to that time we will not see, will thrive and carry forward a message of hope and belief
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My Contact Information
Terry Holliday, Ph.D.
Superintendent, Iredell-Statesville Schools