Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/your-morning-boost-forwarded--6630377/support.
Thank You for Listening! This has been an episode from The FowardED Network—Where we are Advancing Voices and Shaping Education. We are dedicated to supporting everyone invested in K-12 success: teachers, leaders, parents, and community advocates.
Want to keep the conversation going?
- Subscribe: Never miss an insight. Hit the subscribe or follow button on your podcast app to automatically receive our next episode.
- Share the Knowledge: If this episode provided value, please take a moment to rate and review us! Your five-star reviews help new teachers, parents, and leaders find our network.
- Explore the Network: This show is just one part of the ForwardEd Network family. Head over to our network page to explore our full roster of interconnected podcasts, including CTRL Shift Lead, Vice Principal UnOfficed, From Carpool to College, and Your Morning Boost.
- Connect with Us: Have a question or an idea for a future episode? Reach out to us at pillars.forwarded@gmail.com or find us on social media using the tag #theForwardEDnetwork.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:05 Welcome to Your Morning Boost, your daily leadership advice to help you lead your school community.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 Brought to you by AWB Education and sponsored by Grundmeyer Leader Services,
00:00:10 --> 00:00:14 where together we are transforming education, one leader at a time.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 Now here's your host, Adam Bush.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:21 Good morning, school leaders. Welcome back to Your Morning Boost and wishing you a happy Thursday.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:26 Yesterday, if you joined us, we were focusing on critically examining your current
00:00:26 --> 00:00:29 system for student absenteeism and how we're going to address that.
00:00:30 --> 00:00:33 Now that we've identified some areas for improvement today, it's all about setting
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 a plan to make those improvements.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 We're going to start with a clear focus on certain areas, and it's going to
00:00:39 --> 00:00:44 involve translating your insights into actionable steps, prioritizing our initiatives,
00:00:44 --> 00:00:48 and outlining how we will implement targeted strategies to enhance our student attendance.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:56 All right, let's start diving into how we're going to set that plan for improvement.
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 And we're going to focus on a few areas.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 First of all, we need to prioritize those areas for improvement.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 As you remember yesterday, we talked about gathering data and gathering feedback.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:09 And based on that data and feedback, we need to identify one,
00:01:09 --> 00:01:13 two, three key areas where we can make the most significant impact initially.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 I know a lot of times when we start looking at initiatives from schools,
00:01:16 --> 00:01:20 we really want to reach for the stars, which that's awesome,
00:01:20 --> 00:01:24 but it's also sometimes hard to keep that focus and keep our impact going.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:28 So think about ways we can make a significant impact right out of the gates,
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 get a few of those quick wins, you may say.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 So really, we want to consider those areas that not only have that greatest
00:01:33 --> 00:01:37 potential for positive outcomes, but also are most amendable to change as we
00:01:37 --> 00:01:41 move along and as we continue to figure out how to address this issue.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:46 So like an example of this goal could be, we're going to focus on improving
00:01:46 --> 00:01:50 early outreach to families of students with a certain number of absences,
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 let's say three to five unexcused absences.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:58 That goal is really looking at one little area. I'm sure there are many areas
00:01:58 --> 00:02:02 we can improve, but we're looking at one area for a specific subset of students
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 and see if we can make an impact.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:08 So we're really talking about developing some SMART goals, those specific,
00:02:08 --> 00:02:12 measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals that we're all used to.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:16 This is a good example of a time to use one of those. And we want to do this
00:02:16 --> 00:02:21 for each prioritized area. We want to establish those clear and quantifiable goals.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:25 So another example could be, my goal is going to be to reduce chronic absenteeism
00:02:25 --> 00:02:30 rates by 5% in grades K through 5 by the end of first semester.
00:02:31 --> 00:02:35 So that really hones down into the specific area that we're going to try to work on.
00:02:35 --> 00:02:39 Peter Drucker would remind us that what gets measured gets managed.
00:02:39 --> 00:02:43 And so think about how we're going to measure that piece. The next step is to
00:02:43 --> 00:02:46 outline some action steps for each one of these goals.
00:02:46 --> 00:02:50 Break that goal down into concrete sequential steps.
00:02:50 --> 00:02:56 And then also assign responsibility for each action step to specific individuals or teams.
00:02:56 --> 00:03:02 Maybe you have it within your MTSS system. The other thing, don't forget to set deadlines.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:07 We need to have a concrete deadline for the completion of each step within the
00:03:07 --> 00:03:09 action steps leading to the goal.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:13 So let's go back to our example from before about focusing on improving early
00:03:13 --> 00:03:17 outreach to families of students with three to five unexcused absences.
00:03:17 --> 00:03:20 Let's think about our homeroom teachers, our advisory teachers.
00:03:20 --> 00:03:24 Maybe our goal would be that we are going to train all homeroom teachers on
00:03:24 --> 00:03:28 attendance outreach protocols and then put a date to it. We're going to do this by the end of September.
00:03:29 --> 00:03:32 Something like that is going to give us those little steps that's going to help
00:03:32 --> 00:03:35 with that outreach piece. That is our main goal here.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 Another area you're going to need to decide on here is how you're going to allocate resources.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:45 Identify the human resources, staff time, expertise even, financial resources,
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 and any materials that you're going to need to implement your plan.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 Make sure we know what those are going into this.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:54 Maybe even consider reallocating some existing resources that we have,
00:03:54 --> 00:03:57 or maybe you have to go out and seek some new funding if this is what it's going
00:03:57 --> 00:03:59 to take to get you to your goal.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 Next step we got to establish is that monitoring and evaluation system.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:06 How are we going to regularly track progress towards our goals?
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 This is a good time to schedule some periodic meetings when we are going to
00:04:09 --> 00:04:13 review data, going to discuss challenges and adjust the plan as needed.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 Like we talked about before, it's going to have to be somewhat of a moving target.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:18 There's a quote here from W.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:23 Edwards Deming that I really like, and he says, continuous improvement requires
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 ongoing monitoring and a willingness to adapt.
00:04:26 --> 00:04:30 Again, if we don't have that ability to adjust, our goals are going to be too
00:04:30 --> 00:04:32 concrete for us to be able to make any significant progress.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 And another piece to this, don't forget, we need to define what success looks
00:04:36 --> 00:04:40 like and really, honestly, how we're going to celebrate achievements when we get there.
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 I can think about a goal for student attendance that we set a couple of years
00:04:43 --> 00:04:46 ago at the school that I work at, where at the end of it, we're like,
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 we're not even really sure what to do at this point in time because maybe we
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 didn't even think we would actually make the goal, but we did.
00:04:52 --> 00:04:56 So thinking about not only what does it look like when you have made the goal,
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 but how are we going to celebrate that when that time comes?
00:04:59 --> 00:05:02 If we have some larger initiatives, this might also be a good time for us to
00:05:02 --> 00:05:06 think about like a pilot program. Maybe we consider piloting this with a smaller
00:05:06 --> 00:05:11 group or a grade level to really refine those strategies before we do a full implementation.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:16 Be a good opportunity for us to learn a little bit about our initiative or intervention
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 before we try to roll this out on a mass scale.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 Okay, so today we're talking about setting that plan for improvement and addressing
00:05:26 --> 00:05:31 student absenteeism rates. And this is going to involve prioritizing key areas
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 and developing smart goals that are going to outline clear action steps.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:38 We also got to talk about allocating the necessary resources that it's going
00:05:38 --> 00:05:43 to take for this goal to ever be achieved and then also establish a robust monitoring system.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 It's really about being strategic and intentional.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:51 Just like a great coach designing a winning game plan, when we focus our energy
00:05:51 --> 00:05:55 and resources on specific targeted areas, we'll be well on our way to creating
00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 a more supportive and attendance-friendly environment for all of our students.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 And in the end, that's the game we're trying to win.
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 Thanks for joining us today. Hope you have a great Thursday.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 And again, thanks for listening. We will talk with you again tomorrow.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:11 You have been listening to Your Morning Boost by AWB Education in partnership
00:06:11 --> 00:06:16 with Grundmeyer Leader Services. You can find out more about our services by
00:06:16 --> 00:06:17 clicking on the links in the description.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:22 Remember, you are doing this vital job that only a few can do.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:27 So until next time, thank you for your service to your community.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:33 Hi, I'm Dr. Lisa Hill, a longtime educator of nearly 40 years.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:38 As a teacher, counselor, professor, and vice principal, and I've seen just about
00:06:38 --> 00:06:42 everything public schools can throw at you. And now I'm sharing my tales on
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 my comedy podcast, Vice Principal Unofficed.
00:06:45 --> 00:06:48 It's where school leadership meets laugh-out-loud stories.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:52 From underwear-required parent-teacher conferences, yes, really,
00:06:52 --> 00:06:56 to staff lounge confessions and more, you won't believe. I'm telling it all
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 with humor and a whole lot of heart.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:03 I also tackle the serious stuff, too, like what schools really need to change
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 and those behind-the-scenes moments no one talks about.
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 So if you're ready to laugh, learn, and maybe even cry a little,
00:07:09 --> 00:07:14 but mostly laugh, join me and my 90-year-old mom, my unofficial co-host,
00:07:14 --> 00:07:16 on Vice Principal Unofficed.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:22 New episodes drop bi-weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast picks.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 Trust me, this is one detention you'll actually look forward to.