Travel light over Spring Break

Do I bring my Mac? Do I pack my iPad? How many pairs of shoes do I really need? If you are reading this and packing for a Spring Break getaway, you might be asking these same questions. Traveling light is not only a necessity, but it serves as a valid metaphor for life as well. Leadership is a lot like taking a trip. Leaders often go into unfamiliar territory, influencing others to follow them there. Leaders must take care of themselves and their people for the journey. Leaders must be ready for and respond to the obstacles and challenges that inevitably come. The best leaders are the most agile, the most able to adjust and course-correct, the most rock solid on commitment to a vision but most flexible on the route. Leaders build trust, build a coalition and deep relationships. All of these can be seen as features of traveling light through life. Though leaders many carry heavy burdens, they do so with grace around that moral imperative...students!

Light is the load of tight friendships, deep bonds and heartfelt trust.

Light is the load of commitments to impactful goals and keeping the main thing the main thing.

Light is the load of a leader who understands that almost anything can be accomplished if enough focus of energy, desire, and relentless effort is applied.

Light is the life given in servant leadership to others.

The best of leaders are like the best of travelers; they travel light. Like the good traveler who takes nothing but pictures and leaves nothing but footprints, the best leaders take nothing but responsibility and leave nothing but love and example.

Travel light over Spring Break, whether it be in your own home or elsewhere. Become the best leader you can be...travel light.

Celebrate, Celebrate!

 

We are heading toward the end of March, almost eight months since the onset of our goal around Blackboard, so we wanted to take a minute to celebrate our success! 

• 19 of our 24 buildings have 80% or more of staff in the implementation phase of the Adult Learning Framework for Blackboard! 

• Nine of our buildings have staff identified in the institutionalization phase! 

In addition, we have some anecdotal feedback to celebrate. 

• Weekly agendas have been incredibly beneficial to students and families as evidenced by the family and student perception surveys and focus group feedback collected in February. 

• Staff who co-serve groups of students (Special Education teachers, Speech Pathologists, Specialists, etc.) have a common platform to access lesson plans, agendas, and curricular materials. This has supported the work around inclusive practices. 

• “As an administrator, when I go into a classroom for a quick walkthrough, I can log onto Blackboard to see where the lesson is going, where it started, and how it fits into the bigger scope of the unit. This makes my feedback and my conversations with staff much more meaningful.” 

• “As a teacher, I’ve been added onto my colleagues Blackboard courses, and we share materials and resources. I’m also able to see how they format their courses, and we learn from one another this way. It’s hard to get into each other’s classrooms during the day, so being a part of one another’s Blackboard courses is a way to learn more about what is happening in classrooms.” 

We’ve kept a narrowed focus on Blackboard this year, and we are so proud of our students and staff as they’ve utilized this platform to enhance student learning! As staff continue to develop their expertise, we’ve seen an increase in the number of teachers using discussion boards, the assignment tracker, the adaptive release feature, and so much more. This tool has the power to enhance our instruction, which in turn, enhances student learning and achievement. Keep up the great work! 

#waukeshaproud