Cultivating a High Expectation Culture through Collective EfficacyBy Rachel Rydzewski, Principal, Muskego Lakes Middle School I am certain that every single teacher in our school has what it takes to ensure 100% of our students learn at high levels. To my core, I believe that. I also believe that whether students learn- or not- is because of the teacher they are assigned. And while it's imperative that teachers recognize and own their impact, we also know that we can’t expect teachers to take on this charge alone. Rather, as school leaders, it is our responsibility to create the conditions that foster collective efficacy. We’ve been on that very journey at Muskego Lakes Middle School, and several factors have led to our success are: An Unrelenting Belief in our Students
I am confident that each and every student in our building is capable of learning at high levels. And as the principal, every word and action reflects that belief. We owe it to our students to figure out what is getting in their way as learners. So, we get creative. And we keep showing up- never lowering the bar, never placing blame on factors beyond our control. Dr. Christine Rubie-Davies’s research reminds us that expectations are a self-fulfilling prophecy. Her findings suggest that teachers decide who will and will not learn in their classrooms- and that decision alone- intentional or not, will play out in ways that matter.
Getting Really, Really Good at Tier 1 Instruction
If tier one instruction is not yet meeting the needs of 80% of your students, that’s where your energy should be. It can be tempting to focus time, energy, and resources on interventions beyond the classroom. I’ve seen schools build an entirely new master schedule, creating extra periods in the day for students who need additional reading support &/or extensions to keep them challenged. I’ve seen schools focus on their bottom quartile, with extensive resources invested in math groups over lunches or even summer programming. And while all of that matters, we will always best serve students when we meet their needs in tier one instruction. Our experience has been that students learn best from the experts, the classroom teachers, who regularly use formative data to intervene within tier one instruction.
Empowering Teachers to Use Data to Drive Decision-Making At our 5th-8th grade middle school, we’ve launched and sustained weekly PLCs that focus on what’s working and what’s not when it comes to student learning. Our teachers bring their data, analyze the results, and then collectively decide on next steps to maximize learning. They rely on one another to unpack standards, calibrate for rigor, debate common misconceptions, and most importantly- get really good at evaluating the impact of their own teaching on student learning. The data tells a story. And it’s critical the teachers believe that story so they can respond accordingly.
Scaling What Works Within our shared leadership model, we bring teacher leaders together several times throughout the year to analyze school-wide data. And while it can be easy to get hung up on data that is stagnant, we spend much more time and energy on our upward trends. We hone in on pockets of data worth celebrating, and then we get curious. Our teacher leaders ask one another critical questions, seeking to uncover what intentional moves are leading to impressive results. Then, they work together to get ridiculously clear about any high impact strategies they’ve surfaced. Their mission is to then return to their colleagues, equipped to share out what works in order to scale best practices across subjects and grade levels. And as a school, we have gotten really good at replicating what works; in fact, I’d say it’s our superpower. So many of our students do not yet see their own greatness. So it is up to us to help them see what they are capable of. When we hold all of our students to high expectations; when we pool our strengths and expertise; and when we focus on what works- we flex our muscles, strengthening the kind of culture that looks a whole lot like hope.
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