The Principal Diaries - reflections, observations, opportunities and leadership inquiries

Well, the first term has felt like something of a whirlwind. It has been a case of of hitting the ground running and any other whirling/high speed metaphors you can think of. Partly this was due to the time of year - being a senior school, the third term ends up feeling like the (nearly) end of the year, with Impact Projects coming to an end this marked a flurry of exhibition, performance and celebratory evenings. The other reason that it has barreled along so quickly is that I was determined to act quickly so as to ensure plans were well and truly in place for 2019.

As I reflected earlier in the term, I am determinedly approaching first-time Principalship as a leader of learning and have tried to be transparent in that leadership (and leading of change) from day one. In my second week I shared with my staff my lens on powerful learning which informed my approach to observing learning across the curriculum and school. After many weeks of digging into school data (attendance and academic), observing Specialist Subjects, Tutorials and Impact Projects and talking to a range of students and teachers it was time to present a summary of observations and a range of opportunities and interventions. These were presented in various iterations to the SLT, BOT, staff and our community.

Here is a copy of the presentation shared with our community at the Meet the Principal evening in Week Nine.

At the end of Week Six the Senior Leadership Team spent a day off site to go over the observations and opportunities and to begin the process of developing a collaborative action plan. Whilst it was my first instinct to simply allocate an area of the curriculum to each senior leader as a "portfolio" it was swiftly met with hesitation. The ASHS SLT has had a long tradition of collaborating on all areas of the curriculum and were hesitant to return to what was viewed as traditional "divide and conquer" approach to leadership. I have a somewhat different view (and experience) and do see more discrete leadership roles as effective, I did however respect and understand my team's views and I too was keen to ensure we developed a distributed yet collaborative approach to leadership. To this end, we settled on each senior leader taking responsibility for a leadership inquiry based on each aspect of our curriculum. We have also decided to commit an extra SLT meeting each week to focus on sharing and testing inquiries and ensuring coherence across our inquiries and curriculum. And just as I had presented my overarching observations and opportunities to the BOT earlier in the term,  the SLT presented their leadership inquiries to the BOT in Week Nine thus making a tangible step towards turning the opportunities into action!

We also kicked off the ConnectED initiative with an evening event in Week Nine and have now mapped out our timeline for making the Makerspace a reality for Term One 2019.

Beyond ASHS, I have also played a part in establishing #DisruptED with Maurie Abraham (Hobsonville Point Secondary School), Natasha Hemara (Rototuna Senior High School), Andy Kai Fong (Haeata Community Campus), Nicola Ngawera (Spotswood College) and Steve Saville (Rolleston College). The purpose of the group is many and varied and will evolve over time. Firstly we are keen to support each other as we each find ourselves (perceived as) challenging norms about what secondary schooling needs to look like. We also want to provide support for others keen to disrupt their school environments and look forward to putting a spotlight on the great innovations happening in pockets across the country. We are looking to launch a podcast series later in the year, beyond that...watch this space.

On reflection, it has felt like an incredible first term. I absolutely love the school, I have an awesome senior leadership team with whom I am developing a warm (and demanding) relationship with, a passionate and receptive team of teachers and a fabulous school of students who never fail to blow me away with their agency and articulateness. I do genuinely feel like I am the right person, in the right place, at the right time!

However that hasn't stopped moments of self-doubt, and moments of sensing that you can do everything right(ish) and still feel like you are never good enough - as a principal, as a mum and as a wife. It's interesting that in winning the role I have looked forward to my whole career, you get there and you quickly realise it is "a job" albeit one that comes with an intangible sense of "Responsibility" and I mean that with a capital "R". Whilst my rational brain knows I am firing on all cylinders, that doesn't stop my emotional brain and inner voice asking: am I doing enough; wondering if people like me enough; wondering if they think I am doing enough; worrying that when I am doing enough it starts feeling like too much - which then means you start thinking you might be becoming an absent mum and crap/selfish wife/partner. As someone who values a work/life balance and will never apologise for putting my family and my well being first, I can see that this will be an area I will need to watch!

It is already patently clear - wanting to be the best I can be, in the job I have always wanted, will be a balancing act like no other.

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The Principal Diaries: My Lens on Powerful Learning

If there is one thing I am pretty adamant about, it is that the Principal's primary role is to be the 'leader of learning'. To that end one of my real focus areas in my first term as Principal is to observe as much learning as I can in action. As many of you will know, at Albany Senior High School (ASHS) we have three strands to our curriculum - Tutorials, Specialist Subjects and Impact Projects.

You can read explanations of each part of the curriculum here:
Tutorials: http://ashs.school.nz/curriculum/tutorials
Specialist Subjects: http://ashs.school.nz/curriculum/specialist-subjects
Impact Projects: http://ashs.school.nz/curriculum/impact-projects

I came into the school knowing that I loved the curriculum design and the way that the time allocations clearly signalled the value of each element. What I did not know was how well each element (in their current form) was meeting the needs of each and every learner. And as in every school there is often a bit of a disconnect between our espoused theory and our theory in use. Whilst you could send out a google form gathering perceptions, nothing beats actually observing students and teachers in action.

As I was getting all David Attenborough on it and documenting everything I was seeing and hearing I thought it was only fair that I shared with our teachers the lens through which I observe learning. It actually took me a little while to define this for myself! So often we go into a classroom and we observe (and judge) based on our own set of biases and successes which have been formed by our own experiences. I'm actually okay with that, but it does pay to think abut how we have formed our theories and thinking. Mine, I realised had been formed by experiences in working and leading in so many different schools and environments. At Rangitoto College I was taught to be a learning designer with the expectation from day one that we each designed for our class and context (a department practice rather than a school wide one), at Takapuna Grammar I helped lead work around differentiation that focused on inclusive practice, at Auckland Girls Grammar I developed my understanding around the importance of culturally responsive approaches and it was at AGGS I also developed a love for teaching as inquiry and e-learning (through my MOE e-fellowship), at Team Solutions I developed my practice around leading leaders and at Epsom Girls Grammar School synthesise my skills around teaching as inquiry, e-learning, differentiation, leading leaders and ultimately leading change. And then of course I got to hone all of those skills further within an ILE context at HPSS.

All of that experience has meant that I tend to frame my lens on powerful learning based on three high level questions:

• Is learning visible?
• Is learning deep?
• Is learning inclusive?

Each of those high level questions were supported by more questions:

Is learning visible?

• Are learning objectives visible?
• Can students articulate what they are learning?
• Is Google Classroom being used every lesson?
• If a student is away can they follow learning?
• Is there success criteria (beyond achievement standards)?
• Do they have a frame for navigating next steps?

Examples of practice included:

Explicit use of Google Classroom (already the agreed LMS at ASHS)

Frameworks that make cognitive next steps visible such as SOLO Taxonomy

Is learning deep?

• Do students know why they are learning what they are learning?
• Can they articulate how learning might be transferred beyond school?
• Is their learning connected?
• Are they using the trivium model of learning to support deeper learning?
• Is there evidence of higher-order thinking skills?

Examples of practice included:

Evidence that the ASHS Deep Learning Model (Trivium) was being used

The (OECD) Seven Principles of Learning being evident

Is learning inclusive?

• Are there different modes for students to access learning?
• Are there different modes and strategies for students to process learning?
• Are there different modes and time frames for students to evidence learning and/or be assessed?
• Is there evidence of choice re: timing, assessments and topics?

Examples of practice included: 

Evidence of Universal Design for Learning

Or at least evidence of differentiation:

This was presented to the teaching staff as a presentation and as this summary document:

Link to document

The teaching staff then had the opportunity to reflect on their own practice within the context of their own teaching. In groups they did a "quick and dirty" reflection spending 10 minutes using the following worksheets. The top row for capturing what they already do, the bottom row considering what they could be doing or doing more consistently.

Link to worksheets

So, what next?

I will be using this frame to gather evidence divided into 'Observations' and 'Opportunities' (for improvement and innovation). I have also encouraged anyone that wants to send through any of their own observations and opportunities as well. All of this will provide the basis for me to be able to work with the SLT to establish our priorities for 2019 and then plan for how we will work with the whole staff to develop and co-design strategic and then action plans for 2019 and beyond.

The ultimate aim being to lead meaningful and manageable change so as to ensure ASHS will always be a NEW school. 

Will keep you posted how this all goes!

The following readings and resources were also shared:

Visible Learning

Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback (ASCD)

Amplifying Best Practice with BYOD and Google Classroom (Blog)

SOLO Taxonomy (HookED)

Deep Learning

The Nature of Learning (OECD)

Innovative Pedagogies for Powerful Learning (CERI/OECD)

The Future of Education and Skills - Education 2030

Inclusive Learning

CAST - About Universal Design for Learning

Universal Design for Learning | Inclusive Education (TKI)

What differentiated instruction is and isn’t (ASCD)

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The Principal Diaries - same, same but different

Today marks the end of my first week as Principal at Albany Senior High School.

The week began with a stunning powhiri to mark the hand over from Hobsonville Point Secondary School to Albany Senior High School and a beautiful way to mark my transition from Deputy Principal to Principal. It was genuinely touching to have my HPSS whanau, my family and friends to support me on my journey to the "other side". My whaikorero from the powhiri probably sums it up best:

Firstly I would like to thank and acknowledge my Hobsonville Point Secondary School whanau for getting me to this point. I really can’t overstate the impact that working at Hobsonville Point Secondary School over these last five and a half years has had on me as a person, as an educator and as a leader. I have often acknowledged that starting a school is a less than a once in a lifetime opportunity. Working collaboratively to flesh out a vision, develop a set of guiding principles and designing and developing a curriculum that saw HPSS (like ASHS) re imagining what secondary education needed to look like was an incredible opportunity. To the whole team at HPSS I want to say thank you, it has been a magic experience, much of which is down to the incredible team of educators and support staff who work tirelessly to ensure the student is at the heart of every decision made. Thank you in particular to Maliina, Lea, Di and more recently Sally who I have loved working alongside day to day. And thank you Maurie for your kind words today and for showing me what courageous leadership looks like. I look forward to working alongside you in the coming years. 

In 2014 ERO described Albany Senior High School as a school that nurtures, inspires and empowers students. Since opening your school doors in 2009, I have followed your journey closely and from day one have felt a close connection to your values and vision for learning. Hobsonville Point Secondary School has often looked to Albany Senior as something of a navigator, I still remember clearly us coming to visit Barbara, Miranda and Hamish in our first year of planning, gleaning every bit of wisdom we could, and I know HPSS has continued to learn from the what happens here, whether it is the innovation of Impact Projects, the care you show every student in Tutorials or the professional learning and support offered by ChallengED I know that HPSS would not have been the school it is today without the learning gained from Albany Senior. I look forward to nurturing that connection, and just as our rugby players come together to create a First XV so to do I hope our educators and students will find ways to work alongside each other, supporting and challenging each other to be the very best we can be. 

I am so very excited to be the Principal of Albany Senior High School and I to assure you that I will live out the guiding principles of this school through my leadership. I will nurture. Ensuring every person that walks through the school door knows Barbara’s vision lives on. They will know “it is not if you are bright, it is how you are bright”. I will empower. Ensuring all learners and educators aspire to their personal excellence. They will  achieve highly and will be great citizens. And I will inspire. Working with our learners, educators and you to ensure that Albany Senior High School will always be a NEW school. 

So again, thank you all for the welcome today and giving me the opportunity to lead this incredible school.

And as stated in one of my favourite whakatauki...

Hare taka mua, taka muri; kaua e whai!
Be a leader, not a follower!

The rest of the first day was something of a whirlwind of faces and names. After a short time "at my desk" coming to terms with the fact that I'd made it (both in literal and metaphorical terms) I met with my SLT, getting to know my team, "where we were at" and coming to terms with a whole lot of new acronyms. I rounded out the day sitting in on a QTL (Quality Team Leader) meeting with their community. The QTL oversees their community of teachers in both their role as Tutors for Tutorials (which are similar to learning hubs) and as Mentors for Impact Projects the QTL is also the ISL (In School leader for the Kahui Ako). The focus of the meeting was to explore what deep learning looked like in both Tutorials and Impact Projects and discussing the practises and strategies that supported it. 

Day Two began with an opportunity to share my "vision korero" with the staff, sharing a little of what I told the BOT I would bring to role as Principal of ASHS and what I would be focusing on in the coming weeks. You can read the full text here. Of course my plan for the coming weeks is to look, listen and learn as much as possible. My intention is to get to know people, hear their thinking and get out on the floor to see Specialist Subjects, Impact Projects and Tutorials in action. 

Wednesday's focus was spending as much time on the floor as possible. Wednesday at ASHS is dedicated to Impact Projects. Impact Projects are a big part of what attracted me to the school, so spending a good part of the day exploring what the students were up to was awesome. It did strike me that being a Principal on projects day must be similar to being a grandparent - drop in, share your sage advice, wind them up and run away! Awesome! But seriously, it was an absolute highlight sitting alongside students - one student who has studied social media algorithms to help him gain 200K+ followers on Instagram, students publishing a podcast series debunking conspiracy theories, another pair tackling raising teen awareness of domestic violence and yet another pair planning a feminist breakfast event. Literally hundreds of students being given the time and support to pursue passions, learning a massive amount and many making genuine a difference in the process. Loved, loved, loved it.

From the ASHS website:

Take your learning to the world

The Impact Projects are our response to the key competencies with the New Zealand Curriculum document. The students are required to develop a project based on their own strength and passions. The four pillars guide the students to develop worthwhile projects:

1. Student ownership and agency
2. Substantial learning beyond the classroom
3. Quality product
4. Participating and contributing with the community

The students have the opportunity to be an adult in the world and to develop the skills required:

• time management
• leadership
• project management
• participation in an authentic context of their own making contribution to the world.

The students have the opportunity to develop their own learning and not to be limited by the limits of the teacher, the curriculum and the assessment. The time allocated is every Wednesday, for the whole day. The students do 2 projects per year.

The skills required for the students to complete a successful project are the skills that employers and universities clearly state are the skills required when students leave school.

Thursday was an opportunity to address the student body. They listened and even laughed in the right places, so I'll just call that a win. You can read what I said here. Basically it was a student facing version of my staff address, sharing what I've said I'd bring to the job, so they know what I'm about and can help keep me accountable. 

It was also a chance to observe Specialist Subjects in action. One thing I do intend to do in the coming week is share with the teaching staff the lens that I bring to observing learning, unpacking the kinds of questions I ask my self and may ask the learners when I observe any teaching and learning in action. 

I have realised my observational lens is framed around three questions:

Is learning visible?

Is learning deep?

Is learning inclusive?

I'll unpack this further in an upcoming blogpost. It struck me that if I was going to be observing and taking notes, it was only fair to be as transparent as possible. 

Friday was an opportunity to catch my breathe, meet with more staff and catch up on the more administrative side of the role. I did enjoy ending the day popping over to watch the Soccer and dragged the family out to cheer on the Basketball team in their final game of the season. 

Later that evening as I sat back with a glass of wine and reflected on the week, I couldn't help but have a sense of the same, same but different. There is much that feels familiar about my new school but also there is a quite a bit that feels different. I did however realise that I already felt at home in both the school and the role. 

And there is no denying, as far as first weeks go, this one was pretty damn awesome. 

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