Hope and Optimism Are More Than Wishful Thinking in School Improvement
I was wrong – or at least partly wrong – when I used to tell schools that hope is not a school improvement strategy. If a school saying [...]
School Improvement Consulting Framework: Commitment to Results
Commitment to Results Martina Navratilova once said, “The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed.” Consultants and [...]
When Being Coached is Risky Business
“I wish I had a coach when I was a principal.” I hear this statement often when working with people who are coaching principals. They recognize the value [...]
Teacher as Researcher: A Path to Teacher Leadership
During a recent conference call, we began by introducing ourselves. We were a mixed group of educators from different levels of the education system. After [...]
Masterful Questioners Harness the Power of Questioning
One of my younger sisters asked a lot of questions when she was a little girl, so many questions that my other sisters and I asked our mother, [...]
Three ways to improve your listening skills to build trust and understanding
“You can listen like a blank wall or like a splendid auditorium where every sound comes back fuller and richer.” ―Alice Duer Miller, American poet “The word ‘listen’ [...]
What content expertise do school improvement consultants need to bring to the table?
As a member of a team of school improvement consultants, I often participated in the hiring process when we had openings for additional consultants. The process began with [...]
Expanding your school improvement consultant toolbox
This post is the fourth in a series of blog posts with Ceri Dean, Danette Parsley, and Mike Siebersma to introduce the School Improvement Consultant Framework. One day [...]
What school improvement consultants need to know and be able to do
This post is the first in a series of blog posts with Ceri Dean, Danette Parsley, and Mike Siebersma to introduce the School Improvement Consultant Framework. My [...]