By: Evan Robb

A new school year brings excitement, possibility, and a familiar challenge: we are often asked to add more before we have considered what we need to release.

Metaphorically speaking, our plates only have so much room. We cannot continue piling on new initiatives, expectations, and responsibilities without asking an important question:

What do I need to let go of to make room for what matters most?

Sometimes the things we hold onto are valuable. They may have brought us success in the past. They may even be part of our identity. But something can be meaningful and still no longer serve us.

Years ago, I heard a story that has stayed with me. It is a story about courage, change, and the freedom that comes from letting go.

A group of people were on a boat several miles from shore. A celebration was taking place, and everyone was enjoying themselves. One woman stood out because of the large, beautiful necklace she wore around her neck. It was obvious how much the necklace meant to her.

As the celebration continued, the water became rougher. Many people, including the woman with the necklace, were standing near the railing. Suddenly, a large wave struck the boat, and the woman fell overboard.

Several people rushed to help. A man grabbed a life preserver and leaned over the railing to throw it toward her. As she struggled in the water, he yelled:

“Take off the necklace! You will be able to float toward the boat, and I can save you!”

The woman disappeared beneath the water for a moment and then surfaced.

“I’ve had this necklace my entire life,” she shouted. “I can’t do it.”

And that is where the story ends.

The woman faced a choice: hold onto something familiar and precious, or let it go and give herself a chance to survive.

As educators and leaders, we face similar choices every year.

What are the necklaces we are wearing? What are the things we hold tightly that may be preventing us from moving forward?

Here are five questions worth considering:

1. Is it still serving students today, or did it simply work well in the past?

Education changes because students change. There are practices, materials, and traditions we may love because they were part of our success. But the question is not, “Did this work before?”

The better question is:

Does this help students learn today?

As a teacher, I had books and lessons I loved. Over time, I realized my attachment to those materials was stronger than my students’ connection to them. Letting go created opportunities for deeper engagement.

2. Are there instructional practices we continue because they are comfortable rather than effective?

Every profession has traditions. Some deserve to be protected. Others deserve to be examined.

Great educators are not afraid to ask:

Is this the best way, or simply the way we have always done it?

Growth requires reflection and the courage to change.

3. Are we spending time on things that consume energy but create little impact?

One of the greatest challenges educators face is time.

I once knew a teacher who regularly arrived exhausted because he spent hours every night grading student journals. When I asked about the purpose, he struggled to explain how the feedback was improving student learning.

Sometimes we hold onto practices because they feel responsible, even when they no longer produce meaningful results.

4. What do we need to release to embrace new opportunities?

Technology, including artificial intelligence, is transforming education. The goal is not to replace teachers; the goal is to empower teachers.

But innovation requires space.

What practices, assumptions, or fears do we need to release so we can explore new possibilities?

5. Is our mindset helping us lead, or holding us back?

Leadership begins with self-awareness.

Our attitude influences our classrooms, our schools, and the people around us. Optimism does not mean ignoring challenges. It means believing that improvement is possible.

Every school year offers a fresh opportunity to choose growth.

So as you begin this year, consider this:

What necklace are you carrying that you are finally ready to remove?

Letting go is not about abandoning what matters. It is about creating space for what matters most.

Be courageous. Take risks. Challenge assumptions. Continue learning.

Our students deserve educators and leaders who are willing to grow.

For more thoughts on leadership, culture, and instructional excellence, see my book, The Ten-Minute Principal, published by Corwin.

By Evan Robb

Are you searching for a quick-fix solution to improve reading scores? If so, I must disappoint you because I have nothing to offer. Improving reading scores, or any test scores for that matter, doesn’t involve silver bullets or magic tricks. Unfortunately, it’s common for school stakeholders to jump to conclusions about a school’s quality, teachers’ effectiveness, or even the superintendent’s leadership based solely on test scores from a single day. Let’s shift our focus towards practical strategies that can genuinely enhance reading skills and subsequently improve scores.

Let’s start by acknowledging a straightforward yet crucial principle: practice leads to improvement. However, practicing with purpose using research-backed strategies significantly enhances the likelihood of improvement. For students to excel in reading, they must engage in purposeful reading activities.

Here are some valuable tips and cautions to steer a successful reading program:

Rule #1: Read Aloud Sessions

Allocate five to ten minutes daily for read-aloud sessions, depending on class duration. This provides an opportunity to model reading, ask thought-provoking questions, and implement taught strategies effectively.

Reminder: Simply reading a favorite book throughout a class period, no matter how engaging the delivery, won’t necessarily enhance students’ reading skills.

Rule #2: Instructional Reading

Deliver purposeful reading instruction focused on applying strategies and skills to texts to improve students’ reading proficiency. State standards and extensive research can guide the selecting of specific strategies and skills necessary for better reading. It’s crucial to assess students’ lexile levels and tailor genre-focused instructional reading units accordingly to meet individual needs.

Reminder: Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach; instructional reading should cater to each student’s unique instructional needs. If the teacher reads aloud during this segment, students miss the opportunity to practice reading independently. Activities like popcorn reading serve as time fillers and don’t contribute to overall reading improvement.

Rule #3: Independent Reading

Encourage and promote independent reading throughout the school environment. This can include budgeting for books, organizing school-wide campaigns, and celebrating independent reading achievements. Foster a culture where students always carry an independent reading book related to topics they enjoy, thus boosting their motivation to read. Assign thirty minutes of independent reading as the primary homework task, and designate two days per week for in-school independent reading sessions, recognizing the value of classroom reading time.

Reminder: Focus on motivating students to read rather than solely holding them accountable or implementing punitive measures for lack of reading. Explore creative ways, such as monthly book talks, contracts, or logging completed books, to incentivize reading.

I urge a commitment to genuine reading experiences rather than mere reading programs focused on passages and questions or texts beyond students’ reading levels. Embrace research-based reading instruction to witness tangible improvements in students’ reading abilities. Encourage students to read at least three self-selected books monthly alongside instructional texts throughout the year, enhancing test scores.

As professionals, let’s reclaim proven methods backed by research. Ditch ineffective practices and prioritize reading quality literature. Reading educators should strive to master reading instruction, assessment, strategies, and necessary skills to nurture better readers. Let go of strategies that don’t yield results, avoiding being swayed by flashy programs prioritizing profit over education.

For more valuable insights on this topic, I recommend reading “Read Talk Write” by Laura!

By Jenn Hayhurst, & Jill DeRosa

Imagine entering a classroom where some students are working in small groups, others in partnerships, and some independently. There is a low but lively hum of students’ voices. Perhaps they are making plans for how to show their learning to the rest of their classroom community. Some might be negotiating the meaning of a text. Maybe they are conferring with another student about a learning goal. As all of this is happening, the teacher is moving freely through the classroom, keenly aware of how the space is functioning. Classroom supplies, tools, and charts are thoughtfully set up to provide easy access to all learners. The library is central to the function of the room and is reflective of students’ identities and interests. This classroom is a classroom built for agency.  

Agency is one of those ubiquitous terms in education. It seems to be everywhere, it is part of every presentation, and yet, when pressed to define it, its meaning is somewhat elusive.  In Peter Johnston’s seminal book, Choice Words, he defined agency as, “Children should leave school with a sense that if they act, and act strategically, they can accomplish their goals.  I call this feeling a sense of agency.”

Johnston’s book, Choice Words, lent legitimacy to the authentic approaches to teaching and learning we believe in. Having a sense of agency holds the promise to empower all to learn with a sense of agency because our work matters, and everyone has the potential to make a positive impact. We believe agency makes it possible for learning to be joyful and celebrated by everyone in the learning community.  In our book, WIRE for Agency Four Simple Moves that Transfer Learning, we expanded on Johnston’s definition: “Agency is a belief system that says your actions can and will make an impact. Students who exhibit agency feel valued; they operate with choice and a sense of freedom.  They keep learning and trying to achieve because they have conviction that their work matters.” 

Access, Language, and Choice: Three Core Beliefs to Sustain Agency

There are three core beliefs that sustain and nurture agency in the classroom. Giving access, careful deliberation for language, and offering choice are common beliefs shared by many teachers. However, these beliefs become even more powerful when used as a lens for agency:

1. Access: Students get what is needed (independence, additional support, and time) to think.
2. Language: Teachers use language as a vehicle to foster safety, empathy, equity, and trust.
3. Choice: Students are given a choice to decide content, planning, strategy, and people to work with. 

Realizing agency for teachers and students may be only one or two small tweaks away. One possible way to focus this work is to reflect on one aspect of the classroom environment. Let’s use the classroom library as an example:

1. Access: Determine if the reading materials in the library are reflective of the students in the class. Some questions to evaluate access might be: “Do the text bands match the reading readiness of the students in this classroom?”  “Do the books match their reading identities in terms of culture or  interests?”
2. Language:  Determine if there is evidence of student voice within the library. Some questions to ask students might be: “Do the categories of the bins make sense to you?” “How can a person find a book they are able to  read by themselves?” “What is the best part of the library? Why?”  “How do you select a book for your book bin?”  “How can the library be improved?”
3. Choice: Determine if the classroom library is open-ended for student participation. Managing the library and book selection has traditionally been under the purview of the teacher. If you give students some choice for book selection, this small library becomes an important step towards agency. Giving students some choice for how the space will be used and managed is another step toward agency.  Some questions to ask might be: “Is there evidence of student choice to influence in the classroom library?” If yes, “What is it?”  If no, “What can be shifted to include more choice?”

For the purpose of this post, we used the classroom library as an example, but there are many aspects of the classroom environment that can be a mediator for agency.  Here is a checklist that might be a useful tool to start this work. 

Closing Thoughts 

An agentive classroom does not have to be an imaginary place.  Many classrooms already have a lot of what it takes to grant access to agency for learning. If you are tired of students asking for supplies, then try moving supplies where they can be readily accessed. If you are tired of students asking for clarifying directions, try using an anchor chart that students help to create using language they understand. If you are tired of students saying, “I’m done.” try giving them choice for what to do next. These small but significant tweaks will make your teaching and their learning even more meaningful if you give it a go.  When we teach students to think flexibly about their classroom environment, it is but a stepping stone for them to challenge other “fixed” spaces in society. Life-long learners who are critical thinkers are who is needed for a better tomorrow. So start teaching for a sense of agency today.

Check out- WIRE for Agency: Four Simple Moves That Transfer Learning

By Evan Robb

America and the world are experiencing a time of significant change, a time of great challenges. Educators, with little to no warning, have had to transition learning and instruction to an online environment for millions of children. In tandem with shifting learning and teaching to the online world, we also face the challenge of moving our schools’ cultures to teaching and learning online. This shift creates an opportunity resulting in a challenge to you and myself: If the culture of our schools and divisions will need to exist online, then we have a collective responsibility to sustain our schools’ cultures and keep them alive and maintain their vitality. This will require leadership.

When things run smoothly in schools, we often take leadership for granted. However, during these times of the changes and challenges caused by the spread of COVID-19, we start to define leaders and their leadership by their words and actions. To maintain the positive elements of a school’s culture in this climate will require collaborative leadership that includes administrators, teachers, and support staff. 

If you are an administrator, consider these six reflections so you can set the tone in your online school. If you are a teacher, apply these same reflections to your online classroom. All staff has a responsibility to create the school they want during this time of remote learning.

As you review my six points and my culture-building questions, consider where you are right now, what you are doing well, and what changes you can make. 

Six Points and Questions for Reflections

Set the Example: Educators must set an example of what behaviors define the school during remote learning. Collectively, we set examples through modeling, consistent response, and repetition. Consider the professional examples set in lesson creation, expectations, personal efficacy, taking risks, being innovative, or the example set in maintaining communication and feedback to students and families—inconsistency results in confusion.  

Culture Builder: Are your actions setting an example and inspiring others to do more and be more?

Enhance Connections:  Take time to make connections with students, families, colleagues, and friends.  Everyone will handle the time of remote learning differently, but most people in education enjoy making connections.  

Culture Builder: Are you initiating connections? How are you making connections? Are you sharing successes and challenges with colleagues? 

Cultivate Relationships: Positive administrative-teacher-student relationships are always part of an effective classroom and school.  Relationships don’t happen by accident; they require effort and a commitment, a mutual understanding that they are important. 

Culture Builder: How are you creating positive relationships remotely to get students motivated and interested in engaging in learning?

Do Maslow Before Bloom: Grace before grades. We cannot fully understand the challenges faced by all families and students. This is a time to be flexible, more caring, and more empathetic. Schools can exist without grades, but they can’t without feedback. 

Culture Builder: Are your lessons and communications demonstrating flexibility, empathy, feedback, and grace over traditional assessment?

Choose Optimism:  Appearing down or frazzled can have a negative impact on those around you. Effective principals and teachers create and model a definable tone for communicating optimism and positivity. Staff who model optimism impact other staff, students, and the culture of a school.  Optimism is the ability to focus on where we are going, leaders own their optimism, and everyone can be a leader.

Culture Builder: It can be hard to be positive during difficult times, but each day we can choose to be optimistic about the future, better days will come. Are you choosing optimism through words and actions?

Engage in Self-Care: Educators give to others. But to be our best, we also need to give to ourselves. When we do, we are better. Better at instruction, collaboration, communication, reflecting, learning, and perpetuating the culture of our classrooms and schools 

Culture Builder: How will you take care of yourself knowing this will make you more effective at what you do?

Reflect on these six points and culture-building questions as you lead remote learning and hone your school’s culture in a remote learning environment. To nurture your school’s culture during remote learning, offer supportive feedback, help with finding appropriate materials, meet frequently to answer questions, and live growth mindset every day, knowing that with time and hard work, school leaders, teachers, staff, and students can move forward in a positive environment. Make a commitment for yourself, students, parents, and schools to enhance your school’s culture every day!

Audere est Facere

Website: Robb Communications

Blog: The Robb Review Blog

Twitter: @ERobbPrincipal

Facebook: The Robb Review

Podcast, The Robb Review Podcast