I always have a pile of professional reading to attend to; in addition to the reading I do every day through my bloglines account and the daily papers. Currently, I have three journals and two professional books in the pile. I can’t ever seem to get to all of it, so I try to choose wisely.
Lately, I’ve been realizing how important those choices are in our future. During the 2005 winter break, I read Creating a Culture of Literacy: A Guide for Middle and High School Principals. This was sent to principals free of charge by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and is authored by Melvina Phillips. For me, this book completely framed a major problem for our district, adolescent literacy. It was a catalyst for change, as I was able to articulate this to our superintendent, Charles Rinaldi, who totally supported and planned the literacy initiative that is ongoing in our district. I believe that the work our experts (our teachers) are doing right now will lead to great things for our students as we evaluate and change the course of reading in G-Town. The best thing is that others, those most involved and able to support change, own the initiative.
Here’s the thing that’s on my mind. What if I hadn’t read that book? True, I already had reading on my mind because my high school teachers were telling me that our students don’t comprehend the Regents questions on their exams. I also nearly lost a student to graduation because of reading difficulties. So I was on the trail of the reading problem already. But I’m more convinced than ever that our planning for improvement must be purposeful. It must be data driven. More important, it must be kid driven. We have to continuously ask hard questions. We can never be content with the way things are, even when they’re going well, we have to ask, “but how can it be better?”
Our newly formed Curriculum Council, made up of the administrative team and the school leaders, both grade level and department, are taking on this task right now. We are evaluating what’s most important in teaching and learning, what’s happening in G-Town, how it’s supported now, and how it needs to be supported in the future. If there are any elephants in the corner, we’re bringing them into the middle of the room, looking at them from every angle, asking questions, and making them better.