July 9, 2024 • 22 mins
With the new school year fast approaching, learn about the Turnaround 4C Plan. A proven method used over the past twenty years to improve school test scores, increase attendance, lower disciplinary rates, and for high schools, increase graduation rates.
Topics discussed:
- Each component of the Turnaround 4C Plan
- Why improvement starts with your school’s climate (not school curriculum)
- Developing your code as the educational leader and the impact it will have on your school’s success.
- This series will delve into each component of the Turnaround 4C Plan and share proven successful tools and methods to improve your school.
To learn more about the Turnaround 4C Plan please email Bryan Wright at brwright44@gmail.com or Mark McBeth at mark@eductionalrelevance.org
For more information about the the topics discussed, contact us at
Bryan Wright: brwright44@gmail.com
Mark McBeth: mark@educationalrelevance.org
If you found value in today’s episode, share it with a colleague, subscribe, and leave us a review. It helps us keep bringing you conversations that matter.
Thanks for listening. Until next time, keep leading with heart—and stay educationally relevant.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-20 (00:00):
welcome to Educational Relevance, a
platform for experiencededucators to share proven
academic strategies tosuccessfully educate today's
educational leaders.
For those who don't know me, myname is Brian Wright and I am
known to be a turnaroundprincipal.
Joining me today is Mark Mcbeth,who's also an effective and
author.
Good to see you, Mark.
(00:20):
Today, we'll be starting aseries, called Turnaround 4C
Plan.
over the next eight weeks, we'regonna be sharing components of
this method and implementation.
this plan that we're talkingabout has brought results of
increased attendance less dismayrates.
In secondary schools, there'sincreased test scores, there's
increased graduation rates, andall this is because they are
(00:42):
both attainable and measurable.
the four C's are climate, whichis who we are, Culture, what we
do, how we do it, connections,why it matters.
we're giving you these toolsthat will assist you in
incorporating this plansuccessfully.
And I think we can start withthat.
(01:03):
What happens usually when wetalk about school improvement
plans is that many educatorsfrom superintendents to
classroom teachers, they startwith curriculum.
Curriculum Mark, why'd theyalways seem to start with
curriculum?
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-0 (01:14):
because we start with content, it's,
it's what we know, as educators,we usually know our content and
so people start with curriculumbecause they can adopt.
Present curriculum.
They can adopt presentstrategies as a whole.
And there's companies out therethat sell those packages and
they try to convince us that ifwe do those things, our kids are
(01:37):
going to learn math better,reading better, whatever.
And so it's an easy.
Fix so they think climate reallyis, just an essential place when
we're dealing with the school isstruggling curriculum is the
wrong place to start becauseclimate is the things that
establish our environment, ourdisciplines.
(02:00):
Our day to day management of theschool, all those practices are
so much easier to go in andadjust and adapt.
Those things can be adapted andchanged overnight and you can
get quick wins.
You always talk about quick winsand those are great things for
quick wins.
Curriculum just getsoverwhelming.
(02:22):
People say, why are we doingthis?
And they get struggled becauseThe climate's not where they
need it to be,
bryan-wright_1_07-03-2024_1 (02:28):
And so Mark, let me ask one more
question.
If that is the case, why itseems to be so many
superintendents put in five yearplans when the average
superintendent stays into aprogram average of three years,
and that may be a reason whyanother comes in and now they
started talking about curriculumchange as
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03 (02:45):
right?
I guess.
Yeah, they do.
It's just a repeat cycle.
I think part of it is hopefulthinking that they're gonna be
long term superintendent.
You know, it's like I said, it'swhat we know.
We know we can adopt.
It's very convincing that it hasthe support and structure needed
for change.
(03:07):
People never believe that thingscould be changed overnight.
So by adopting something out intime, we can say, Hey, don't
feel so pressured.
You have to change today.
You can change tomorrow becausethis is a five year plan.
this isn't a today plan.
And I think that gives comfortto, the stable climate.
(03:29):
It actually gives comfort to theteachers to stay where they're
at.
And that's actually the strugglebut that's kind of what it's
intended to do is to givecomfort to teachers.
So, community and the boards,school boards to not feel like
they're overwhelmed.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-2024_1 (03:45):
and you know, you talking about
quick wins, you know, what quickwins do without changing in
climate.
I've often told superintendentsin those districts and the
community in those districtsthat we can make those changes,
those positive changes,essentially the same staff the
same students where we can makethose changes because we feel
that if we build those thingssuch as environment and using
(04:07):
the climate and that's what I'msaying.
Establishing an identity.
who we are and what we're goingto become in the future, we can
make those changes.
And what seems to me whatclimate does is build trust.
And it builds trust in yoursystem, builds trust in you as a
person, and people feelcomfortable that they want to
follow you once they startgetting those quick wins and
(04:27):
seeing some successes beingestablished.
Not only that, but also whatyou're talking about is building
up a consistency with thestudents.
And I think that's somethingthat we seem to miss out
sometimes, building up thatconsistency and how we're going
to work with our children, andhow the children are going to
benefit from the consistentmessage they receive.
Every single day.
How does that sound to
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03- (04:47):
Yeah, I think that's perfect.
What we want is something that'sthe practices that we and models
that we put in place has thatconsistency stretched across
time, right?
And and people need to see thatthat consistency happens.
So when you're establishingthose things, if you can create
that consistency you startgaining lots more trust from the
(05:08):
students, the staff and theparents in the community.
Those, quick wins are necessaryfor feelings.
How people feel internally.
When you go into a turnaroundschool, There is a them against
us mentality and that that themcan be teachers against
administrators becauseadministrator leaves every two
(05:31):
or three years.
So then they're kind of, youknow, do we trust the next guy
or next woman that comes in?
It's teachers against students,students against teachers
secretary against the teachers,whatever it is.
It's that, negative.
Climate that people aren'tworking together.
(05:52):
And it's those things that wehave to create consistency where
they see, yep.
Making gains, making gains.
Yep.
That makes sense that we knowwhat's coming every day and that
feels comfortable and that's whyclimate becomes number one.
And then as you're building thatidentity.
Number two is culture.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-2024 (06:11):
Well, culture, and that's a good
segue, Mark.
Culture is something that nowbecomes embedded.
The positive changes we started,the positive changes we're
doing, we're going to continue.
This becomes part of what we do.
All right.
And everything that, and I giveyou a couple of examples.
You talk about that, we, when wefirst started climate, for
example, we talked about the,five step test in our schools.
(06:33):
five step test is, right, youcome to the front door and as
you hit the front door, you takefive steps into your school.
you hit the fifth step, lookaround.
What do you see?
And I always tell people youshould be able to tell what
culture looks like in thosefirst five steps.
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03 (06:53):
Right.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-2024_1 (06:54):
All right.
And you can tell what kind ofschool you have based on those
first five steps.
So when we talk about doingsomething along those lines, we
want to make sure that thosefirst five steps, you feel good
about where you're at.
What you're doing, especiallywhen you talk about parents
coming in, community leaderscome to your building.
You want them to really feel theculture that starts, but that
comes embedded.
(07:14):
And that's why we start buildingup that culture.
We start with climate, talkabout something good, something
positive.
Then we talk about somethingthat's also embedded.
And you've had some situationswhere you've assisted in
culture.
I'd talk to us about some ofthose things you've incorporated
to make sure the culture wassomething that was successful.
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03-2024 (07:30):
I think you're right.
When you walk in that, thatfirst step, you've established a
climate that sets the stage forhow we do business.
And that's the culture, right?
How we're doing business.
What's our purpose on a dailybasis.
And you talk about code.
I basically take, take theconcept student learning first.
And within that.
(07:52):
We, start to embed things forculture where we start putting
systems in place for commonprofessional development across
the board.
We start putting Observations oflearning together, where people
can start seeing that there'spositive things going on inside
of classrooms as well.
So we do that through like teamwalkthroughs before anything
(08:14):
becomes formalized.
I'm taking teachers in and outof classrooms, letting them see
other teachers be successfulmaybe in just one little
strategy, one little techniquetrying to embed those things in
there.
And I think communicationbecomes key.
You start giving teachers powerto have input.
Now, they may not have controlof everything, but they're
(08:36):
having input on what's going on,what's happening, why are we
moving forward with what we'redoing that starts to adopt
culture, you know, and becausethe sacred cow exists and you
got to kind of know what thesacred cow is and then let them
start to see things.
Right.
And so you have to engage them.
Yeah.
(08:57):
So, you have to adopt thingslike the structure of the PLC,
not all the content of the PLCyet.
It's really getting peopletalking is the key.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-2024_1 (09:13):
And as you talk about building those
parts, you mentioned one thing,and I want to make sure I go
back to what we were talkingabout.
I think everybody needs to havea code.
I think code is what builds andit's the connection between
climate and culture.
And make sure I explain code.
Code isn't a leader'seducational philosophy.
something that you hope thestaff supports.
Matter of fact, I think every.
(09:34):
A leader should start anyprogram they have and talk about
what their code is and how theyshould develop the code.
They have code is so important.
That's what people want tofollow through.
And if they follow your code,then all of a sudden it's easier
to build both climate and thenconnect that climate pieces of
culture.
You want to start embeddingcause I think it's cold.
Matter of fact, I was in aschool where, you know, we
(09:56):
already started cold.
My codes are respect law,respects earned, not just given,
but common courtesy demanded ofeveryone.
I know your code and I'm goingto let you share your code in a
minute because I think it'sgreat.
But at the same time as we dothat, say, okay, this is who we
are.
I've seen schools adopt the codesaying this is who we want to
be.
Then once they adopt that code,then it becomes part of what we
(10:17):
do.
All right.
We're going to live by that.
And I've actually seen teacherscreate their own codes, which
I've, we highly recommended.
Then we said they've establishedthat and they've built codes for
their own students.
So they built their own code andhad kids build their code.
And anytime kids were gettingout of line, they just thought
it was breaking away from theircode.
All they did was point to thewall where they put all the
(10:38):
students codes up saying, that'swhat you said you're going to
live by.
Are you going to live by thosewords?
And the kids actually starteddoing better saying, yeah,
that's what I want to be about.
So with that being said, I wantyou to hear about your code,
tell about your code, Mark,cause I know it pretty
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03- (10:50):
Yeah.
So, so basically I have, I havean overlap.
It's, it's student learningfirst, but then, then I always
talk about rigor, relevance,relationships, generates
results.
And I say it over and over.
And over and over again untilother people start to say it
over and over again themselves.
So, when we're in meetings withthese staff, they're starting to
(11:13):
talk about is this relationshiprelated?
Is this for students and adults,right?
But is this, rigor?
Is this relevance?
Are we talking about results?
And if we have all those type ofthings, we're setting the
culture for positive learningoutcomes that we're focusing on
student learning as the outcome.
(11:35):
And we were focusing on theavenues to get there.
One of the things when we thinkabout culture, when we go into a
school that needs to turnaround, people have difficulty
communicating with each other.
And when you're in a culturethat has become positive and you
know you can go to the nextstep, which is what we're going
to talk about next is whenpeople are able to interact
(11:58):
among themselves based on thatcode, When they're starting to
have that kind of conversationwhere they're in depth in that
conversation, now they can moveto that next phase.
Which is curriculum.
So let's define curriculum.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-202 (12:15):
first, if we have done the first two
steps correctly, if we havechanged the climate of the
building to something that'spositive, if we've embedded the
culture and some of the thingswe're talking about, and you
mentioned there's two C's thatwe even talked about a lot
today, communication.
Now, and those are part of theconnection piece that we'll
discuss at the end.
But now, now you can talk aboutbuilding a curriculum, making
(12:36):
changes in curriculum wherepeople feel as though you're not
attacking them at theiracademics, not attacking them
personally.
We're talking about changes thatwill greatly benefit and enhance
student learning.
That what we can do.
And we're doing this together.
This is not something thatthey're doing on an Island that
we've already established acontext that we're now we're
doing it as one, as a group, asone, one school.
(12:59):
One district, one community, oneclassroom, so we can start doing
these things.
So that's when curriculum stylebecomes changes that we can do
that we talked about and saying,Hey, we can do these ideas that
we think will work inside ourbuilding, our district, our
community, our classroom.
And that's why curriculumchanges is usually not the first
thing we do, but the third thingwe do once we establish a
(13:22):
positive climate and hopefully apositive culture as What do you
think
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03- (13:26):
Yeah.
Positive culture.
So, so each becomes importantfor the next.
So climate, we have to, we haveto establish the management
systems, the day to dayoperations, build that trust.
As you said, then the culture,we have to establish the
positive thinking, the purposeof why we exist.
And we really have to get there.
And then that curriculum isabout when people start to self
(13:49):
reflect and start saying, Hey,here's the strategies we can use
to incorporate rigor relevancerelationship.
This is where we can createactual content, knowledge and,
and methodologies to get there.
When, when they're able to havethat deep conversation.
So when we're, what we see inthe turnaround is kind of like
(14:12):
before we go in, we see a lackof cohesion, right?
We're missing the connectbetween the content that we're
teaching, how we're teaching it,how we're doing it as a school,
how we're measuring it throughdata.
Those things don't exist.
And that's when we're, when wecome in to do the curriculum.
Now we're looking at what kindof data are we really going to
(14:34):
look at to measure whetherstudents are learning?
What are we going to measure?
Becomes essential.
How are we going to deliver thismessage to know ultimately how
we're whether people arelearning it.
And so this is once again, wejump back to where you started.
You asked, why do people starthere?
(14:54):
Because it's just where peoplethink, well, our content
content, let's just teachcontent.
If you teach reading, kids willlearn, but if the climate
doesn't exist and the culturedoesn't exist, that's the
positive culture.
Don't get it.
Cause there's always culture,but The school gets stagnant and
can backtrack.
(15:16):
And sometimes that backtracksbecause of that, that
consistency where you saidsuperintendents, principals come
in for two or three years, moveon, we're asked to move on
because they're trying to makepositive change and it's hard
And so if the people followingour model here, if they start
with climate and we can givethem the tools for that later,
(15:36):
right?
And they, they go, they go toculture and then they, they
start to focus now on thatcurriculum.
They will have way more success
bryan-wright_1_07-0 (15:47):
Absolutely.
I know when we're talking aboutour plan kids don't learn if
they feel unsafe, in theirenvironment.
They're not going to learn.
And yet we always make sure westart with curriculum and we
always say, you know, the kidmay be unsettled, maybe unsafe
his environment.
And then all of a sudden you sawwhat happened in Kobe when the
people came back and the firstthing they did was trying to
steal educational policies andkids weren't learning at all.
(16:10):
And so that would happen inCOVID.
So what happens after that?
Now people are building up thosetrust issues.
Again, they starting with someof the turn around foresee
policies and now improvement andlearning is being evident is
taking place.
the one thing that brought itall together.
And when we talk about thisplan, it's a connection piece
and you handled that beautifullyearlier when you discussed about
(16:31):
the connections, as far ascommunicating, making sure that
communication, those lines areopen.
Also talking about consistencyof what we're doing and how
we're doing it.
So people know we're going to bethe same positive thing every
day.
Once you add more about theconnections, you think that
Could establish that we makethis plan be something that
people may want to utilize.
squadcaster-ahi0_1_0 (16:51):
leadership creates the connection, right?
So that that leader needs tolook at early on helping really
set climate and then start tobuild capacity over time for
teacher engagement.
Community engagement, gettingpeople involved to change that
culture.
(17:12):
Then ultimately the people whoknow their content, the
instructional strategies, allthe methodologies exist off and
inside the buildings, right?
And we're, empowering them overtime.
We do that by always having thatcode from day one.
it embeds it, even if we're notthere yet.
Even if they're not living ityet, they know that it exists on
(17:34):
our perspective.
It's our expectation.
The connection between all theseis that they all exist at the
same time, but you can't, Goheavy on the third one, which is
curriculum before you've wentheavy on climate and then.
(17:55):
settle into consistency and thengo heavy on culture until it
becomes embedded and felt right.
And then now you can reallyembed the curriculum.
The comprehension piece, theconnections between the two, all
these helps build capacity.
(18:16):
Another C over time is reallybuilding that capacity and we
have to think about each ofthose.
So To get there we're thinkingabout our leadership type, style
we're using.
We're, we're thinking at firstit's not really learning focused
even though we're using thoseterms.
(18:37):
It's still not learning focus,it's management focus.
And then we start to putstudents first and we make that
shift and then we can get intoto that instruction and learning
are the central focus.
But we're making that connectionall the time, that connection,
it's there.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-202 (18:54):
Right.
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03-20 (18:55):
so, and at that connection piece, we
really start to live the cultureon a daily basis and it adapts
and changes because they'regoing, Oh, we know more now we
feel better about who we are nowwe're making, we're still making
those gains.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-2024_1 (19:13):
Oh, absolutely.
Now we're scaffolding what we'relearning, what we're doing, and
it builds like a stepping stone,building up towards success.
You know, I got to tell you thisquick story, Mark.
I'll let you know this.
And the story I'm talking aboutis you know, I was a principal
of a middle school.
And at one time, I remember surethe first day I said, we are the
best middle school in the stateof where we're at.
(19:33):
And I said that, and it didn'tdraw any play.
And I kept saying it, we said itevery day.
If I wasn't in school, I had anassistant principal say it every
day.
all of a sudden Next thing youknow, kids were like, welcome to
this school and they're like,best middle school in the state.
We heard you.
We heard you.
So I quit saying it for a week.
See what's going to happen.
(19:54):
had kids and teachers come up tome.
Why?
We're not the best middle schoolnow.
We're not this.
We're not that.
And I was like, Oh, Oh, I'msorry.
And sure enough, we startedsaying it and saying it by the
end of the second year, were theones
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03- (20:07):
Yeah.
Yeah.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-202 (20:08):
acting like they were, and they start,
believing.
It became part of the culture webelieved in.
We are this.
And so when we had our thirdyear yearbook, first thing we
put in our yearbook in thefront.
Welcome to this school.
We are the best middle school inthe state And it became
something that it was aconnection piece that we use
that we started with climate westarted making sure who we are,
(20:32):
then we started embedding it andall of a sudden it became
culture like, Hey, this is whatwe do.
And then the connection was whatbrought it together.
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03-2 (20:39):
I'll make one more analogy for some
of the sports people out there.
So every principal that'slistening to this, no school
districts out there where theygot a powerhouse basketball
team, powerhouse football teamwinner year after year after
year.
They teach the fundamentals,climate.
they build a sense of culturethat we're going to win no
(21:02):
matter what, right?
It's just, it's just given.
they then build a game plancalled, you know, curriculum,
right?
And then they make theconnections with those kids and
the community and say, this isour package.
And year after year, they'reconsistent.
(21:23):
And even if they have a seasonwhere they're losing a few
games, the mental state is stillthat we're still the best, just
where you were talking about.
We're the best.
And they adopt it.
And the coach no longer has tosell it.
It's just embedded.
And I think that's where we'regoing.
What I want to do is in ourcoming up sessions with you is
(21:44):
really dive into climate alittle bit more.
Talk about some tools thatyou've used, maybe some tools
that I've used.
Some practices that we focusedon to get that.
School to move through thatclimate stage and then on to the
next one, the culture and then,and make that connection.
And that's why we have a multiseries plan here.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-2024 (22:07):
thank you, Mark.
I think that's a great idea.
So the, for those who are goingto close off this session today,
we want to thank everybody forlistening.
Again, our email addresses willbe put in the comment section.
Please if you wish to know moreabout us or ask us any
questions, do not hesitate to doso.
Meantime, Mark, it's good to seeyou as always, my friend.
Until the next session.
(22:27):
All right, everybody have a goodday.
Bye.
Bye.
welcome to Educational Relevance, a
platform for experiencededucators to share proven
academic strategies tosuccessfully educate today's
educational leaders.
For those who don't know me, myname is Brian Wright and I am
known to be a turnaroundprincipal.
Joining me today is Mark Mcbeth,who's also an effective and
author.
Good to see you, Mark.
(00:20):
Today, we'll be starting aseries, called Turnaround 4C
Plan.
over the next eight weeks, we'regonna be sharing components of
this method and implementation.
this plan that we're talkingabout has brought results of
increased attendance less dismayrates.
In secondary schools, there'sincreased test scores, there's
increased graduation rates, andall this is because they are
(00:42):
both attainable and measurable.
the four C's are climate, whichis who we are, Culture, what we
do, how we do it, connections,why it matters.
we're giving you these toolsthat will assist you in
incorporating this plansuccessfully.
And I think we can start withthat.
(01:03):
What happens usually when wetalk about school improvement
plans is that many educatorsfrom superintendents to
classroom teachers, they startwith curriculum.
Curriculum Mark, why'd theyalways seem to start with
curriculum?
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-0 (01:14):
because we start with content, it's,
it's what we know, as educators,we usually know our content and
so people start with curriculumbecause they can adopt.
Present curriculum.
They can adopt presentstrategies as a whole.
And there's companies out therethat sell those packages and
they try to convince us that ifwe do those things, our kids are
(01:37):
going to learn math better,reading better, whatever.
And so it's an easy.
Fix so they think climate reallyis, just an essential place when
we're dealing with the school isstruggling curriculum is the
wrong place to start becauseclimate is the things that
establish our environment, ourdisciplines.
(02:00):
Our day to day management of theschool, all those practices are
so much easier to go in andadjust and adapt.
Those things can be adapted andchanged overnight and you can
get quick wins.
You always talk about quick winsand those are great things for
quick wins.
Curriculum just getsoverwhelming.
(02:22):
People say, why are we doingthis?
And they get struggled becauseThe climate's not where they
need it to be,
bryan-wright_1_07-03-2024_1 (02:28):
And so Mark, let me ask one more
question.
If that is the case, why itseems to be so many
superintendents put in five yearplans when the average
superintendent stays into aprogram average of three years,
and that may be a reason whyanother comes in and now they
started talking about curriculumchange as
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03 (02:45):
right?
I guess.
Yeah, they do.
It's just a repeat cycle.
I think part of it is hopefulthinking that they're gonna be
long term superintendent.
You know, it's like I said, it'swhat we know.
We know we can adopt.
It's very convincing that it hasthe support and structure needed
for change.
(03:07):
People never believe that thingscould be changed overnight.
So by adopting something out intime, we can say, Hey, don't
feel so pressured.
You have to change today.
You can change tomorrow becausethis is a five year plan.
this isn't a today plan.
And I think that gives comfortto, the stable climate.
(03:29):
It actually gives comfort to theteachers to stay where they're
at.
And that's actually the strugglebut that's kind of what it's
intended to do is to givecomfort to teachers.
So, community and the boards,school boards to not feel like
they're overwhelmed.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-2024_1 (03:45):
and you know, you talking about
quick wins, you know, what quickwins do without changing in
climate.
I've often told superintendentsin those districts and the
community in those districtsthat we can make those changes,
those positive changes,essentially the same staff the
same students where we can makethose changes because we feel
that if we build those thingssuch as environment and using
(04:07):
the climate and that's what I'msaying.
Establishing an identity.
who we are and what we're goingto become in the future, we can
make those changes.
And what seems to me whatclimate does is build trust.
And it builds trust in yoursystem, builds trust in you as a
person, and people feelcomfortable that they want to
follow you once they startgetting those quick wins and
(04:27):
seeing some successes beingestablished.
Not only that, but also whatyou're talking about is building
up a consistency with thestudents.
And I think that's somethingthat we seem to miss out
sometimes, building up thatconsistency and how we're going
to work with our children, andhow the children are going to
benefit from the consistentmessage they receive.
Every single day.
How does that sound to
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03- (04:47):
Yeah, I think that's perfect.
What we want is something that'sthe practices that we and models
that we put in place has thatconsistency stretched across
time, right?
And and people need to see thatthat consistency happens.
So when you're establishingthose things, if you can create
that consistency you startgaining lots more trust from the
(05:08):
students, the staff and theparents in the community.
Those, quick wins are necessaryfor feelings.
How people feel internally.
When you go into a turnaroundschool, There is a them against
us mentality and that that themcan be teachers against
administrators becauseadministrator leaves every two
(05:31):
or three years.
So then they're kind of, youknow, do we trust the next guy
or next woman that comes in?
It's teachers against students,students against teachers
secretary against the teachers,whatever it is.
It's that, negative.
Climate that people aren'tworking together.
(05:52):
And it's those things that wehave to create consistency where
they see, yep.
Making gains, making gains.
Yep.
That makes sense that we knowwhat's coming every day and that
feels comfortable and that's whyclimate becomes number one.
And then as you're building thatidentity.
Number two is culture.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-2024 (06:11):
Well, culture, and that's a good
segue, Mark.
Culture is something that nowbecomes embedded.
The positive changes we started,the positive changes we're
doing, we're going to continue.
This becomes part of what we do.
All right.
And everything that, and I giveyou a couple of examples.
You talk about that, we, when wefirst started climate, for
example, we talked about the,five step test in our schools.
(06:33):
five step test is, right, youcome to the front door and as
you hit the front door, you takefive steps into your school.
you hit the fifth step, lookaround.
What do you see?
And I always tell people youshould be able to tell what
culture looks like in thosefirst five steps.
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03 (06:53):
Right.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-2024_1 (06:54):
All right.
And you can tell what kind ofschool you have based on those
first five steps.
So when we talk about doingsomething along those lines, we
want to make sure that thosefirst five steps, you feel good
about where you're at.
What you're doing, especiallywhen you talk about parents
coming in, community leaderscome to your building.
You want them to really feel theculture that starts, but that
comes embedded.
(07:14):
And that's why we start buildingup that culture.
We start with climate, talkabout something good, something
positive.
Then we talk about somethingthat's also embedded.
And you've had some situationswhere you've assisted in
culture.
I'd talk to us about some ofthose things you've incorporated
to make sure the culture wassomething that was successful.
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03-2024 (07:30):
I think you're right.
When you walk in that, thatfirst step, you've established a
climate that sets the stage forhow we do business.
And that's the culture, right?
How we're doing business.
What's our purpose on a dailybasis.
And you talk about code.
I basically take, take theconcept student learning first.
And within that.
(07:52):
We, start to embed things forculture where we start putting
systems in place for commonprofessional development across
the board.
We start putting Observations oflearning together, where people
can start seeing that there'spositive things going on inside
of classrooms as well.
So we do that through like teamwalkthroughs before anything
(08:14):
becomes formalized.
I'm taking teachers in and outof classrooms, letting them see
other teachers be successfulmaybe in just one little
strategy, one little techniquetrying to embed those things in
there.
And I think communicationbecomes key.
You start giving teachers powerto have input.
Now, they may not have controlof everything, but they're
(08:36):
having input on what's going on,what's happening, why are we
moving forward with what we'redoing that starts to adopt
culture, you know, and becausethe sacred cow exists and you
got to kind of know what thesacred cow is and then let them
start to see things.
Right.
And so you have to engage them.
Yeah.
(08:57):
So, you have to adopt thingslike the structure of the PLC,
not all the content of the PLCyet.
It's really getting peopletalking is the key.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-2024_1 (09:13):
And as you talk about building those
parts, you mentioned one thing,and I want to make sure I go
back to what we were talkingabout.
I think everybody needs to havea code.
I think code is what builds andit's the connection between
climate and culture.
And make sure I explain code.
Code isn't a leader'seducational philosophy.
something that you hope thestaff supports.
Matter of fact, I think every.
(09:34):
A leader should start anyprogram they have and talk about
what their code is and how theyshould develop the code.
They have code is so important.
That's what people want tofollow through.
And if they follow your code,then all of a sudden it's easier
to build both climate and thenconnect that climate pieces of
culture.
You want to start embeddingcause I think it's cold.
Matter of fact, I was in aschool where, you know, we
(09:56):
already started cold.
My codes are respect law,respects earned, not just given,
but common courtesy demanded ofeveryone.
I know your code and I'm goingto let you share your code in a
minute because I think it'sgreat.
But at the same time as we dothat, say, okay, this is who we
are.
I've seen schools adopt the codesaying this is who we want to
be.
Then once they adopt that code,then it becomes part of what we
(10:17):
do.
All right.
We're going to live by that.
And I've actually seen teacherscreate their own codes, which
I've, we highly recommended.
Then we said they've establishedthat and they've built codes for
their own students.
So they built their own code andhad kids build their code.
And anytime kids were gettingout of line, they just thought
it was breaking away from theircode.
All they did was point to thewall where they put all the
(10:38):
students codes up saying, that'swhat you said you're going to
live by.
Are you going to live by thosewords?
And the kids actually starteddoing better saying, yeah,
that's what I want to be about.
So with that being said, I wantyou to hear about your code,
tell about your code, Mark,cause I know it pretty
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03- (10:50):
Yeah.
So, so basically I have, I havean overlap.
It's, it's student learningfirst, but then, then I always
talk about rigor, relevance,relationships, generates
results.
And I say it over and over.
And over and over again untilother people start to say it
over and over again themselves.
So, when we're in meetings withthese staff, they're starting to
(11:13):
talk about is this relationshiprelated?
Is this for students and adults,right?
But is this, rigor?
Is this relevance?
Are we talking about results?
And if we have all those type ofthings, we're setting the
culture for positive learningoutcomes that we're focusing on
student learning as the outcome.
(11:35):
And we were focusing on theavenues to get there.
One of the things when we thinkabout culture, when we go into a
school that needs to turnaround, people have difficulty
communicating with each other.
And when you're in a culturethat has become positive and you
know you can go to the nextstep, which is what we're going
to talk about next is whenpeople are able to interact
(11:58):
among themselves based on thatcode, When they're starting to
have that kind of conversationwhere they're in depth in that
conversation, now they can moveto that next phase.
Which is curriculum.
So let's define curriculum.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-202 (12:15):
first, if we have done the first two
steps correctly, if we havechanged the climate of the
building to something that'spositive, if we've embedded the
culture and some of the thingswe're talking about, and you
mentioned there's two C's thatwe even talked about a lot
today, communication.
Now, and those are part of theconnection piece that we'll
discuss at the end.
But now, now you can talk aboutbuilding a curriculum, making
(12:36):
changes in curriculum wherepeople feel as though you're not
attacking them at theiracademics, not attacking them
personally.
We're talking about changes thatwill greatly benefit and enhance
student learning.
That what we can do.
And we're doing this together.
This is not something thatthey're doing on an Island that
we've already established acontext that we're now we're
doing it as one, as a group, asone, one school.
(12:59):
One district, one community, oneclassroom, so we can start doing
these things.
So that's when curriculum stylebecomes changes that we can do
that we talked about and saying,Hey, we can do these ideas that
we think will work inside ourbuilding, our district, our
community, our classroom.
And that's why curriculumchanges is usually not the first
thing we do, but the third thingwe do once we establish a
(13:22):
positive climate and hopefully apositive culture as What do you
think
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03- (13:26):
Yeah.
Positive culture.
So, so each becomes importantfor the next.
So climate, we have to, we haveto establish the management
systems, the day to dayoperations, build that trust.
As you said, then the culture,we have to establish the
positive thinking, the purposeof why we exist.
And we really have to get there.
And then that curriculum isabout when people start to self
(13:49):
reflect and start saying, Hey,here's the strategies we can use
to incorporate rigor relevancerelationship.
This is where we can createactual content, knowledge and,
and methodologies to get there.
When, when they're able to havethat deep conversation.
So when we're, what we see inthe turnaround is kind of like
(14:12):
before we go in, we see a lackof cohesion, right?
We're missing the connectbetween the content that we're
teaching, how we're teaching it,how we're doing it as a school,
how we're measuring it throughdata.
Those things don't exist.
And that's when we're, when wecome in to do the curriculum.
Now we're looking at what kindof data are we really going to
(14:34):
look at to measure whetherstudents are learning?
What are we going to measure?
Becomes essential.
How are we going to deliver thismessage to know ultimately how
we're whether people arelearning it.
And so this is once again, wejump back to where you started.
You asked, why do people starthere?
(14:54):
Because it's just where peoplethink, well, our content
content, let's just teachcontent.
If you teach reading, kids willlearn, but if the climate
doesn't exist and the culturedoesn't exist, that's the
positive culture.
Don't get it.
Cause there's always culture,but The school gets stagnant and
can backtrack.
(15:16):
And sometimes that backtracksbecause of that, that
consistency where you saidsuperintendents, principals come
in for two or three years, moveon, we're asked to move on
because they're trying to makepositive change and it's hard
And so if the people followingour model here, if they start
with climate and we can givethem the tools for that later,
(15:36):
right?
And they, they go, they go toculture and then they, they
start to focus now on thatcurriculum.
They will have way more success
bryan-wright_1_07-0 (15:47):
Absolutely.
I know when we're talking aboutour plan kids don't learn if
they feel unsafe, in theirenvironment.
They're not going to learn.
And yet we always make sure westart with curriculum and we
always say, you know, the kidmay be unsettled, maybe unsafe
his environment.
And then all of a sudden you sawwhat happened in Kobe when the
people came back and the firstthing they did was trying to
steal educational policies andkids weren't learning at all.
(16:10):
And so that would happen inCOVID.
So what happens after that?
Now people are building up thosetrust issues.
Again, they starting with someof the turn around foresee
policies and now improvement andlearning is being evident is
taking place.
the one thing that brought itall together.
And when we talk about thisplan, it's a connection piece
and you handled that beautifullyearlier when you discussed about
(16:31):
the connections, as far ascommunicating, making sure that
communication, those lines areopen.
Also talking about consistencyof what we're doing and how
we're doing it.
So people know we're going to bethe same positive thing every
day.
Once you add more about theconnections, you think that
Could establish that we makethis plan be something that
people may want to utilize.
squadcaster-ahi0_1_0 (16:51):
leadership creates the connection, right?
So that that leader needs tolook at early on helping really
set climate and then start tobuild capacity over time for
teacher engagement.
Community engagement, gettingpeople involved to change that
culture.
(17:12):
Then ultimately the people whoknow their content, the
instructional strategies, allthe methodologies exist off and
inside the buildings, right?
And we're, empowering them overtime.
We do that by always having thatcode from day one.
it embeds it, even if we're notthere yet.
Even if they're not living ityet, they know that it exists on
(17:34):
our perspective.
It's our expectation.
The connection between all theseis that they all exist at the
same time, but you can't, Goheavy on the third one, which is
curriculum before you've wentheavy on climate and then.
(17:55):
settle into consistency and thengo heavy on culture until it
becomes embedded and felt right.
And then now you can reallyembed the curriculum.
The comprehension piece, theconnections between the two, all
these helps build capacity.
(18:16):
Another C over time is reallybuilding that capacity and we
have to think about each ofthose.
So To get there we're thinkingabout our leadership type, style
we're using.
We're, we're thinking at firstit's not really learning focused
even though we're using thoseterms.
(18:37):
It's still not learning focus,it's management focus.
And then we start to putstudents first and we make that
shift and then we can get intoto that instruction and learning
are the central focus.
But we're making that connectionall the time, that connection,
it's there.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-202 (18:54):
Right.
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03-20 (18:55):
so, and at that connection piece, we
really start to live the cultureon a daily basis and it adapts
and changes because they'regoing, Oh, we know more now we
feel better about who we are nowwe're making, we're still making
those gains.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-2024_1 (19:13):
Oh, absolutely.
Now we're scaffolding what we'relearning, what we're doing, and
it builds like a stepping stone,building up towards success.
You know, I got to tell you thisquick story, Mark.
I'll let you know this.
And the story I'm talking aboutis you know, I was a principal
of a middle school.
And at one time, I remember surethe first day I said, we are the
best middle school in the stateof where we're at.
(19:33):
And I said that, and it didn'tdraw any play.
And I kept saying it, we said itevery day.
If I wasn't in school, I had anassistant principal say it every
day.
all of a sudden Next thing youknow, kids were like, welcome to
this school and they're like,best middle school in the state.
We heard you.
We heard you.
So I quit saying it for a week.
See what's going to happen.
(19:54):
had kids and teachers come up tome.
Why?
We're not the best middle schoolnow.
We're not this.
We're not that.
And I was like, Oh, Oh, I'msorry.
And sure enough, we startedsaying it and saying it by the
end of the second year, were theones
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03- (20:07):
Yeah.
Yeah.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-202 (20:08):
acting like they were, and they start,
believing.
It became part of the culture webelieved in.
We are this.
And so when we had our thirdyear yearbook, first thing we
put in our yearbook in thefront.
Welcome to this school.
We are the best middle school inthe state And it became
something that it was aconnection piece that we use
that we started with climate westarted making sure who we are,
(20:32):
then we started embedding it andall of a sudden it became
culture like, Hey, this is whatwe do.
And then the connection was whatbrought it together.
squadcaster-ahi0_1_07-03-2 (20:39):
I'll make one more analogy for some
of the sports people out there.
So every principal that'slistening to this, no school
districts out there where theygot a powerhouse basketball
team, powerhouse football teamwinner year after year after
year.
They teach the fundamentals,climate.
they build a sense of culturethat we're going to win no
(21:02):
matter what, right?
It's just, it's just given.
they then build a game plancalled, you know, curriculum,
right?
And then they make theconnections with those kids and
the community and say, this isour package.
And year after year, they'reconsistent.
(21:23):
And even if they have a seasonwhere they're losing a few
games, the mental state is stillthat we're still the best, just
where you were talking about.
We're the best.
And they adopt it.
And the coach no longer has tosell it.
It's just embedded.
And I think that's where we'regoing.
What I want to do is in ourcoming up sessions with you is
(21:44):
really dive into climate alittle bit more.
Talk about some tools thatyou've used, maybe some tools
that I've used.
Some practices that we focusedon to get that.
School to move through thatclimate stage and then on to the
next one, the culture and then,and make that connection.
And that's why we have a multiseries plan here.
bryan-wright_1_07-03-2024 (22:07):
thank you, Mark.
I think that's a great idea.
So the, for those who are goingto close off this session today,
we want to thank everybody forlistening.
Again, our email addresses willbe put in the comment section.
Please if you wish to know moreabout us or ask us any
questions, do not hesitate to doso.
Meantime, Mark, it's good to seeyou as always, my friend.
Until the next session.
(22:27):
All right, everybody have a goodday.
Bye.
Bye.
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