The Brilliance in the Building by Solution Tree

Copyright © 2023 by Solution Tree Press Materials appearing here are copyrighted. With one exception, all rights are reserved. Readers may reproduce only those pages marked “Reproducible.” Otherwise, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, photo copying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission of the publisher. 555 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404 800.733.6786 (toll free) / 812.336.7700 FAX: VisitSolutionTree.comemail:812.336.7790info@SolutionTree.comgo.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks to download the free reproducibles in this book. Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Ryan, Bo, author. Title: The brilliance in the building : effecting change in urban schools with the PLC at work process / Bo Ryan. Description: Bloomington, IN : Solution Tree Press, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2022026407 (print) | LCCN 2022026408 (ebook) | ISBN 9781954631236 (paperback) | ISBN 9781954631243 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Urban schools--United States--Administration. | Education, Urban--United States. | Educational change--United States. | Professional learning communities--United States. Classification: LCC LC5131 .R93 2022 (print) | LCC LC5131 (ebook) | DDC LCLC371.009173/2--dc23/eng/20220706recordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2022026407ebookrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2022026408 Solution Tree Jeffrey C. Jones, CEO Edmund M. Ackerman, President Solution Tree Press President and Publisher: Douglas M. Rife Associate Publisher: Sarah Payne-Mills Managing Production Editor: Kendra Slayton Editorial Director: Todd Brakke Art Director: Rian Anderson Copy Chief: Jessi Finn Senior Production Editor: Suzanne Kraszewski Content Development Specialist: Amy Rubenstein Acquisitions Editor: Sarah Jubar Copy Editor: Evie Madsen Proofreader: Elisabeth Abrams Text and Cover Designer: Fabiana Cochran Associate Editor: Sarah Ludwig Editorial Assistants: Charlotte Jones and Elijah Oates © 2023 by Solution Tree Press

| iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my wife, Kesha Ryan, my best friend and my inspiration, for her love and support. Solution Tree Press would like to thank the following reviewers: Heather St.MilltownPrincipalBell-WilliamsElementarySchoolStephen,NewBrunswick, Canada Molly McDeedsPrincipalCappsCreek Elementary Southern Pines, North Carolina Erika DirectorChapaofIntervention, Section 504, and PasadenaDyslexiaIndependent School District Pasadena, Texas Alexander Fangman Grant’sPrincipalLick Elementary School Alexandria, Kentucky Kelli InstructionalFuller Facilitator Howard Perrin Elementary School Benton, Arkansas Doug ClearSuperintendentGeeLakeCommunity School District Clear Lake, Iowa © 2023 by Solution Tree Press

THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDINGiv | Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks to download the free reproducibles in this book. Scott Alameda,SaintProfessorKathyPasadena,PasadenaDistrictJanetPhoenix,DeerManagerAmyOmaha,EducationalBlaneOnalaska,OnalaskaPrincipalJedTucson,TanqueSuperintendentHagermanVerdeUSDArizonaKeesMiddleSchoolWisconsinMcCannConsultantNebraskaMooreofProfessionalLearningValleyUnifiedSchoolDistrictArizonaNuzzieInstructionalSpecialist,K–12MathematicsInterventionIndependentSchoolDistrictTexasPerezemerita,author,andinternationalconsultantMary’sCollegeofCaliforniaCalifornia Peter TivertonSuperintendentSanchioniPublic Schools Tiverton, Rhode Island Luke ParkPrincipalSpielmanViewMiddle School Mukwonago, Wisconsin Jennifer AssociateStevenBinghamton,Broome-TiogaAdministratorBarbaraFortNorthsideAssistantSteelePrincipalHighSchoolSmith,ArkansasTasberforManagedTechnologyServicesBOCESNewYorkWeberSuperintendentfor Teaching and FayettevilleLearningPublic Schools Fayetteville, Arkansas © 2023 by Solution Tree Press

| v TABLE OF CONTENTS Reproducible pages in are italics. About the Author vii Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 The Challenges in Urban Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 A Quick Review of the PLC Process 3 About This Book 5 Chapter 1 – A Culture of Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 What Is a Culture of Care, and Why Is It Important for Urban Schools? 8 How Do You Create a Culture of Care in Urban Schools? 12 Summary 26 Additional Reading 27 Reflection and Action Plan for a Culture of Care 28 Chapter 2 – A Culture of Collaboration 31 What Is a Culture of Collaboration, and Why Is It Important for Urban Schools? 32 How Do You Create a Culture of Collaboration in Urban Schools? 35 Summary 52 Additional Reading 53 Reflection and Action Plan for a Culture of Collaboration 54 Chapter 3 – A Results-Driven Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 What Is a Results-Driven Culture, and Why Is It Important for Urban Schools? 58 How Do You Create a Results-Driven Culture? 62 Summary 83 Additional Reading 83 Reflection and Action Plan for a Results-Driven Culture 84 Chapter 4 – A Culture of High-Quality Instruction With More Time and Support 87 What Is a Culture of High-Quality Instruction With More Time and Support, and Why Is It Important for Urban Schools? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 How Do You Create a Culture of High-Quality Instruction With More Time and Support in an Urban School? 92 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 © 2023 by Solution Tree Press

THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDINGvi | Additional Reading 108 Reflection and Action Plan for a Culture of High-Quality Instruction With More Time and Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Chapter 5 – A Culture of Continuous Improvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 What Is a Culture of Continuous Improvement, and Why Is It Important for Urban Schools? 112 How Do You Create a Culture of Continuous Improvement in Urban Schools? 114 Summary 130 Additional Reading 130 Reflection and Action Plan for a Culture of Continuous Improvement 131 Final Thoughts 133 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 SIG for a Culture of Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 SIG for Collaborative Culture in a PLC 137 SIG for a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum 138 SIG for Monitoring Student Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 SIG for Taking Action Driven by Results 139 SIG for High-Quality Instruction 140 SIG for More Time and Support (Intervention and Extension) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 SIG for Continuous Improvement 142 Race and Equity Discussion Meeting Template 143 Reflection on Behavior System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Team Tool for Reflection on Time During the Day 146 Lead Learning Team Meeting Template 147 Pre-Block Vertical Team Meeting Agenda Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 End-of-Block Vertical Team Meeting Agenda Template 149 Template for Achieving Clarity for Collaborative Meetings 150 Priority Standards Yearlong Map Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Learning Block Planning Tool 152 Pre-Block Data Team Meeting Template 157 Mid-Block Data Team Meeting Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 End-of-Block Meeting Template 161 Teacher Framework Cheat Sheet 165 Instructional Standards of Excellence in Literacy Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Team Pre-Block Instructional Plan 167 Team Reflection on Instruction 168 Meeting Template to Determine Current Reality Before Starting the RTI Process . . . . . 169 Team Response From a Common Formative Assessment Template 170 Intervention Team Action Plan Template 171 Professional Learning Plan for a Learning Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Collaborative Instructional Rounds Template 174 Instructional Rounds Template 175 Team Reflection on the Learning Block Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Lesson-Plan Reflection 179 Collaborative Professional Learning Plan 180 References and Resources 181 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 © 2023 by Solution Tree Press

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bo has worked in education since 1994, serving as a teacher, coach, and principal. He started his career in education as a graduate assis tant football coach for Syracuse University, coaching in two bowl games. Bo started his teaching career at John C. Clark Elementary School in Hartford, Connecticut, where he was recognized as the city’s Teacher and Educator of the Year. During his time there, Bo created various before- and after-school programs for hundreds of stu dents. Bo also instructed a graduate class on PLCs and interventions as an adjunct professor at the University of Saint Joseph in Hartford, Connecticut. His article, “Learning by Doing: The Arts Middle Way,” is published in AllThingsPLC Magazine.

To book Bo Ryan for professional development, contact Solution Tree at pd@Solution Tree.com. Tree

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o Ryan is principal of the Ana Grace Academy of the Arts Magnet School in Bloomfield, Connecticut. He is passionate about building and sustaining professional learning communities (PLCs), and has led two different schools to Model PLC certification: Woodside Intermediate School in 2012 and Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Magnet Middle School in 2016, just four years after it opened.

Solution Tree has certified Bo in PLCs, response to intervention (RTI), and priority schools. He has worked with schools across the United States. He earned undergraduate degrees from Western Connecticut State University, a master’s degree from Syracuse University, and a sixth-year degree from Southern Connecticut State University.

2023 by Solution Tree Press

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INTRODUCTION

W hen I was a child, my family and I moved around a lot until finally settling in a small city when I was ten years old. The neighborhood consisted of multifamily homes, apartments, lots of people, and multiple corner stores; there was always something going on. I loved growing up in that urban community. My most vivid memories are from my middle school years, walking with a large group of neighborhood kids to school every day—play-fighting, getting into some type of trouble, or just clowning around. There was laughter and joy, and there was some serious trouble—including, for me, suspensions and failing grades. My mother changed her work hours so she could keep an eye on me, and she facilitated a meeting with the local police to “scare me straight.”

Intermingled with my memories with my friends in the neighborhood is a specific memory from school: the portable—a small building outside the main school building that served as a classroom for students; for some, that portable was their school. Although I did not know exactly what was happening in the portable, I did know my friends who spent their days there had sporadic school attendance at best and did not go to college. Some even ended up in prison. As I got older and learned more about education, that visual of the por table sticks in my mind as a symbol of inequity. The students who were in the portable, all friends of mine who grew up in the same neighborhood, never graduated from high school. Schools may not have an actual portable classroom, but they still have something stop ping their students from having access to a quality education. It may be teachers working in isolation. It may be educators focusing on something other than learning. It may be low-quality instruction or lack of time and support. It may be a lack of dedication or true caring. It may be satisfaction with the status quo. All these issues can contribute to schools ©

• Urban intensive: These schools are in large cities.

Researchers and educators H. Richard Milner IV, Heather B. Cunningham, Lori Delale-O’Connor, and Erika Gold Kestenberg (2018) describe three categories of urban schools.

Author and coach Cassandra Washington (n.d.) breaks down urban schools into three categories:

One study that examined students in fifty cities in the United States finds that in urban education:

Large—An urbanized area and principal city with a population of 250,000 or more

» Small—An urbanized area and principal city with a population of 100,000 or less

• Urban emergent: These schools are in major cities that are not as large. They have the same challenges as the urban intensive schools.

» Low-income students and students of color were less likely to enroll in high-scoring elementary and middle schools than those who were more affluent or were white. . . .

» Medium—An urbanized area and principal city with a population of 250,000 or less

» [Students in] less than a third of the cities examined made gains in math or reading proficiency over a three-year study span relative to their state’s performance. . . .

» Less than 10 percent of all high school students enrolled in advanced-math classes each year in 29 of the 50 cities. . . .

Washington (n.d.) describes social problems as another challenge facing urban educators because what happens outside the school affects what happens inside the school: violence, drugs, homelessness, joblessness, and mental health issues. Author and associate professor of leadership in education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Jake Schneider (2017) states, “The average low-income student in the United States attends a school where two-thirds of the student body is low income—a 28 percent increase from just a quarter century ago.”

» One in 4 students in ninth grade . . . did not graduate from high school in four years.

Urban schools, for the purposes of this book, are public schools located in a city that need immediate support for challenges they are facing. Coauthors Roey Ahram, Adeyemi Stembridge, Edward Fergus, and Pedro Noguera (n.d.) note that urban challenges include operating in densely populated areas, poverty, greater racial and ethnic diversity, and more frequent rates of student mobility. These challenges also speak to structural challenges: low student achievement, lack of instructional coherence, inexperienced teaching staff, poorly functioning data systems, and low teacher expectations of students (Ahram et al., n.d.).

• Urban characteristics: These schools are not located in big cities but are starting to experience the same characteristics as urban schools.

THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDING2 | not reaching their overarching goal of high student achievement. These are all problems urban schools in particular often face.

The Challenges in Urban Education

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1. A focus on learning: PLCs focus on both student and staff learning. For students to learn at high levels, staff must also learn at high levels.

A Quick Review of the PLC Process

2. A collaborative culture and collective responsibility: Staff members work in teams (rather than in isolation) and take responsibility for each student’s success.

The goal of this book is to show you how your urban school can make an impact on student achievement and change the trajectory of student lives using available resources— what I call the brilliance in the building. Leaders and staff in urban schools cannot do this work in isolation; they must work together to accomplish their goals. Therefore, I grounded this book in the principles of the Professional Learning Communities at Work ® (PLC) process outlined by PLC architects Richard DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, and Robert Eaker, along with PLC experts Thomas W. Many and Mike Mattos (2016).

“The PLC process is not a program”—it is a continuous system for improvement (DuFour et al., 2016, p. 10). DuFour and his colleagues (2016) define a PLC as “an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve” (p. 10). It is a way of doing business in a school. In a PLC, educators achieve goals and improve their results by work ing together in collaborative teams. PLCs are organized around three big ideas (DuFour et al., 2016).

About a 14 percentage-point achievement gap existed between students who were eligible for free and reduced-price meals and those who were not.

The NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development (2018) finds, “Urban school districts . . . face a continuing shortage of qualified new teachers willing and able to work in America’s most challenging classroom environments.” Brian A. Jacob (2007), assistant professor of public policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, notes, “Urban districts’ difficulty in attracting and hiring teachers means that urban teachers are less highly qualified than their suburban counterparts with respect to characteristics such as experience, educational background, and teacher certification” (p. 129). In an executive summary, the New Teacher Project (n.d.) details the crisis of irre placeable teachers leaving urban districts; leaders do little to retain teachers. This negligent retention of the best teachers makes school improvement almost impossible (New Teacher Project, n.d.).

Members of a PLC engage in discussion about the fundamental purpose of their organi zation. In doing this, staff determine their mission, vision, values (collective commitments), and goals. These elements (or pillars) are the foundation of a PLC at Work (DuFour et al., 2016). by

» Black students were almost twice as likely to receive an out-of-school suspension as white students (as cited in Superville, 2015).

3. A results orientation: Teachers use data as evidence to know if students are learning and to drive improvement.

| 3Introduction

THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDING4 |

4. How will we extend the learning for students who are already proficient? (DuFour et al., 2016, p. 36)

I was fortunate to lead two schools to Model PLC certification (see www.allthingsplc.info): Woodside Intermediate School in Cromwell, Connecticut, in 2012, and Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Magnet Middle School in Bloomfield, Connecticut, in 2016, in just four years. I advocate for the PLC process in urban schools because it helps leaders create a system in which both educators and students learn at high levels. This systems approach creates a way to give all students a chance to be successful. The collaboration component is critical so teachers can learn from and support one another. Urban magnet schools, such © by

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4. Goals: The final pillar enables staff to answer the question, “How will we know if all of this is making a difference?” by identifying targets and timelines (DuFour et al., 2016, p. 42).

The PLC process uses the brilliance in the building because finding that brilliance means taking action and using the resources you already have—the time and the people—to improve student and staff learning. In a PLC, there is not one teacher of the year doing amazing things with students, but rather an entire school or district filled with many teachers of the year doing amazing things with students. Most teachers enter the profession because they care about student learning and are passionate about making a difference. This is especially true in urban schools, where teachers face so many unique challenges. Teaching in urban schools is tough work, but the impact teachers can make on students and the community is significant. The tools in this book allow educators to start the work of improving adult and student learning immediately—to take action with the brilliance in the building.

2. Vision: The vision pillar asks, “What must we become in order to accomplish our fundamental purpose?” In answering this question, staff create “a compelling, attractive, realistic future that describes what they hope their school will become” (DuFour et al., 2016, p. 39).

Collaborative teams are the engine that drives the work of a PLC (DuFour et al., 2016).

3. Values: The values pillar asks, “How must we behave to create the school that will achieve our purpose?” (DuFour et al., 2016, p. 41). Answering this question allows staff to make collective commitments to act in certain ways.

The action steps this book details align with the three big ideas, the foundational pillars, and the four critical questions of the PLC process.

The members of collaborative teams in a PLC answer four critical questions to guide their work and achieve the goal of high levels of learning for all students:

2. How will we know when each student has acquired the essential knowledge and skills?

1. What knowledge, skills, and dispositions should every student acquire as a result of this unit, this course, or this grade level?

1. Mission: The mission pillar asks the question, “Why do we exist?” (DuFour et al., 2016, p. 39). Answering this question helps staff reach agreement regarding the fundamental purpose of the school.

3. How will we respond when some students do not learn?

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Chapter 3 describes how to create a culture of learning using a systematic and resultsdriven process called learning blocks. Learning blocks are periods of time teachers collab oratively create plans and assessments for, or what they will do with their students over a predetermined length of time. When creating learning blocks, teacher teams choose priority standards, create learning targets from the standards, agree on success criteria for mastery, create common formative assessments (pre-, during-, and end-of-unit), and plan time for more support. During the implementation of the learning blocks, teachers administer and collaboratively score assessments and meet in a data team to take action based on results. The teams create a learning block plan that guides the individual team members in their classrooms. The learning block strategy correlates with all three big ideas of a PLC.

Chapter 4 focuses on ensuring high-quality instruction in every classroom through high-leverage practices like teacher clarity, learning targets, success criteria, formative assess ment and feedback, and student self-grading. This chapter shows you how to take the learning targets the team unwraps from the priority standards when planning the learning block and implement them in the classroom. The chapter also addresses how to create a plan to ensure more time and support for all students.

Introduction

About This Book I wrote this book for K–12 leaders in urban schools and communities who are ready to take action for PLC transformation. This book is also for any public school leader who faces some of the same challenges, regardless of the school’s size or location. This resource guides school leaders by outlining specific action steps and providing ready-to-use tools for supporting the work of PLC transformation, with a specific focus on the needs of urban schools. It is an excellent resource for leaders who have some knowledge of the PLC pro cess but who are having trouble taking action or focusing on the right work, and who need clarity on leading a PLC in an urban school or district.

Chapter 2 focuses on creating a culture of collaboration with three action steps: (1) max imizing time, (2) ensuring team success, and (3) coaching up teams—all strategies that correlate directly to the second big idea of a PLC. Transforming school culture expert Anthony Muhammad (2018) defines culture as how educators behave. All the action steps in this chapter will help urban school leaders create the time to meet with teams, ensure teams focus on the right work, and coach teams for continuous improvement.

as Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts and Ana Grace Academy of the Arts (which are now combined into one K–8 intermediate school), draw students from a wide area. Each school year, more than half the students in these schools are new to the building, coming from more than twenty-five different schools. The PLC process is critical for these schools to not only survive but also thrive.

Chapter 1 focuses on creating a culture of care where all educators in the school care deeply about the students. In this chapter, I focus on collaborative discussions on race and equity, being mission driven, strengthening mindsets, conducting community and home visits, and creating a behavior system that focuses on relationships. All educators care about students on some level, but can they answer the question, “Do you care enough to take action?”

Every chapter follows the same structure, starting with an ongoing fictional scenario high lighting the journey of an elementary teacher, Mr. Lewis, who faces many of the ongoing challenges common to urban districts. The what section describes the practice the chapter focuses on, the why section gives the research supporting that practice, and the how section demonstrates the action steps educators can take to implement the practice. Each chapter provides reproducible pages that include coaching tips, which will help leaders take action immediately. Each chapter ends with reflection questions and a template for you to write ways to take immediate action with your collaborative teams in the school. The action steps and reproducibles will enable your collaborative teams to begin doing the work immediately. I created the reproducibles based on more than twenty-five years of extensive research and actual in-school use and revision in urban schools. While all the samples in the appendix were originally created for grades 6–8, educators have used the templates and processes in other grades; educators can use these tools at any K–12 grade level. Because urban schools do not always have the resources to enable educators to leave the building for professional development training, the tools in this book can support pro fessional development days throughout the year. My hope is that this book helps urban school leaders harness the brilliance in the building. I hope you will use this book to start the work immediately. Let’s get all students out of that portable classroom and give them a fighting chance!

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Chapter 5 describes how to use the resources in the building to create a culture of continu ous improvement. The chapter describes ways to give staff professional learning opportunities during the school day in the school building. Leaders offer all the professional learning opportunities with minimal to no money—just the brilliance in the building.

THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDING

A CULTURE OF CARE

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Every student you help graduate means one less dropout, which means one less student at risk for entering the juvenile justice system, depending on welfare, or going to prison. . . . It is also one more voice that will contribute to our culture and world, making it a better place. —Eric Jensen I t was a beautiful day in August. The staff were back at Teal Elementary for the first day of two days of teacher in-service to begin the new school year. Mr. Lewis, a first-year teacher who had recently graduated from college with a degree in elementary education, was feeling very nervous. He was excited to be a member of the Teal Elementary team—a group of people who, he presumed, like himself, had a passion for teaching. Mr. Lewis had been a member of a team, either football or basketball, his entire life. He preferred team sports to individual sports; he loved the sense of community and accomplishment. However, he was a little nervous about whether he would be able to make an impact in an urban school. Mr. Lewis hoped he had the skills to be the teacher the students deserved. As he approached the auditorium, several veteran teachers welcomed him to the school, giving him the following piece of advice: Don’t smile until December! Mr. Lewis knew what his colleagues meant—teaching isn’t an easy profession. However, he wondered if the seemingly light-hearted saying was a reflection of much deeper feelings in the building. Did the staff believe simply getting through the school year was the best outcome to hope for? Or did they believe in doing more? Would he be working in a culture of care where students could over come the challenges they face?

Urban schools need this same energy—this culture of care—with staff members who not only care about students but also are willing to do whatever it takes to help students be successful and learn at high levels, which includes increasing their own (adult) learning and working together as a team. This chapter explores the importance of a culture of care and presents strategies for how to create this in your urban school.

Creating a culture where every adult cares about the students in the building is incredibly important and requires a sense of urgency. According to the UCLA EASE Project (2021), a culture of care is a: systemic feature of schools that ensures all students are educated in an environment that makes them feel respected, supported, and cared for . . . an environment where the admin istrators, educators, and other school professionals and staff respect and support one another. (p. 5)

Mr. Lewis was reminded of a program he ran the previous summer—a camp at a local college for students with the most needs in the city. More than four hundred underserved children attended the camp per year. The camp staff really cared about working with students in under served communities. They showed this through their daily actions—they knew the campers’ names and interests, and made an effort to also understand the campers’ community. The staff had an incredible energy and were proud of what they were able to accomplish together at the camp to benefit children—they definitely used the brilliance in the building, or, in this case, the camp.

All educators will tell you they care about students—for most, it’s why they are in the profes sion and chose to work in an urban community. However, stating you care is not good enough. You must reflect a culture of care with actions—not just spoken words. As PLC and response to intervention (RTI) experts Mike Mattos, Richard DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, Robert Eaker, and Thomas W. Many (2016) explain: The culture of a school is found in the assumptions, beliefs, expectations, and habits that constitute the norm for the people within that school. The culture of a school can be based on teacher collaboration or isolation; it can be student centered or teacher centered, be based on high expectations or low expectations, involve a growth mindset or a fixed mindset, or embody collective self-efficacy or fatalism. The culture is typically unexamined and simply reflects “the way we do things around here.” (p. 19)

The report goes on to say that “authentic caring is a way of doing what is right” (UCLA EASE Project, 2021, p. 12). Schools that focus on developing caring relationships between adults and students and students and their peers “have the best opportunity to change the educational expe rience of students of color” (UCLA EASE Project, 2021, p. 12). In addition, in a culture of care, every educator “is committed to challenging and changing policies, procedures, and processes that produce and maintain inequities in access to college” (UCLA EASE Project, 2021, p. 26).

THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDING8 |

What Is a Culture of Care, and Why Is It Important for Urban Schools?

Former Usable Knowledge staff writer Leah Shafer (2018) describes culture as being about connections. In a strong culture, there are many overlapping and cohesive interactions among all members of the organization. In a weak culture, sparse interactions make it difficult for people to learn the organization’s culture, so the culture’s character is barely noticeable and the com mitment to it is scarce or sporadic.

Coauthors Robert D. Barr and Emily L. Gibson (2013) describe the importance of a culture of hope in urban schools in their book Building a Culture of Hope: Enriching Schools With Optimism and Opportunity, when they cite the words of a low-income parent in Denton, Texas: How important is education? I will tell you how important it is. For my children, it is the only hope they got. I am telling you it is their only hope. I don’t know about your kids, but for my kids, education is a matter of life and death. (p. 7)

CNN senior editor Janie Boschma and The Atlantic senior editor Ronald Brownstein (2016) state: by

A Culture of Care

Muhammad (2018) adds that America’s Latino population also faces similar issues:

» White median net worth is thirteen times the net worth of the average African American household. (p. 5)

» Latino citizens are twice as likely to live in poverty than white students. (p. 6)

» African American citizens are twice as likely to be poor as compared to white citizens.

According to the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture (2022) at the University of Chicago, it is impossible to address the social, economic, and political conditions in urban areas without confronting inequality in the educational system. The Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture (2022) describes three factors that reinforce the school-to-prison pipeline: (1) income and race highly segregate students in public schools, with a persistent pattern of African American and Latino students being concentrated together in low-income public schools, (2) traumatic childhood experiences affect learning and behavioral outcomes, and (3) zero-tolerance policies.

• A disproportionate number of Black and Hispanic youth live in poverty: in 2017, roughly 33 percent of Black youth and 26 percent of Latino youth lived in families with income below the federal poverty level (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2018).

In Overcoming the Achievement Gap Trap, author Anthony Muhammad (2015) notes, “African American students are suspended and expelled from school at a rate more than three times as high as white students” (p. 14). Two other studies include the following.

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Muhammad (2018) shares the following statistics that point to the need for Black students in urban schools to experience a caring culture so they don’t fall victim to the achievement gap trap:

• One in three Black males and one in six Latino males born in the year 2001 will spend time in prison at some point in his life (The Sentencing Project, 2018).

» White students are twice as likely to graduate from high school as Latino students.

» African American median income is half of white median income.

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From a culture where interactions with students and families stop at the school . . . To a culture that takes interactions with students beyond the school into their homes and the community to reach families

From a culture without a mission . . . To a culture that is mission driven From a culture with a fixed mindset . . . To a culture with a growth mindset

THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDING10 |

In almost all major American cities, most African American and Hispanic students attend public schools where a majority of their classmates qualify as poor or low-income. . . . Researchers have found that the single most-powerful predictor of racial gaps in educational achievement is the extent to which students attend schools surrounded by other low-income students.

TABLE 1.1: The Shift to a Culture of Care

The research and planning behind the scenes to create such a culture are incredibly import ant. What do best practices indicate is most effective? What are teachers doing during their collaboration time that promotes care for students? What programs have they created? Do they go into “those neighborhoods”? Do teachers have collaborative conversations about race and equity? Do they live the mission of the school daily by believing all students can learn at high levels? Do teachers care enough to work at relationships? Do they care enough to adhere to the tight (or non-negotiable) practices of a PLC because doing so is in the best interest of students? Do teachers care enough to reflect on their mindset?

Thrive: Building a Coaching Culture for Collaborative Teams in PLCs at Work; and Energize Your Teams: Powerful Tools for Coaching Collaborative Teams in PLCs at Work, which give leaders a way to evaluate where they are in the process, reflect, and take action to improve their teams.

From a behavior system focused on punishment . . . To a behavior system focused on relationships

Each chapter of this book features a useful tool called a strategy implementation guide (SIG) for the chapter’s topic. This tool is based on the SIG PLC experts Thomas W. Many, Michael J. Maffoni, Susan K. Sparks, and Tesha Ferriby Thomas (2018, 2020, 2022) developed in their books, Amplify Your Impact: Coaching Collaborative Teams in PLCs at Work; How Schools

The shift to a culture of care—where adults connect with students in impactful ways—can make a significant difference for urban students. Implementing the PLC process shifts the cul ture from traditional to caring. Table 1.1 shows the shift that happens when a school moves from a traditional system to a culture of care.

From a traditional culture . . . To a culture of care

Use the SIG for professional development at the start of the year, during the year (to remind staff of their work), or at the end of the year (as a staff reflection tool). Teacher teams can use the SIG to measure their progress and reflect on their work. Many and colleagues (2018) say about the power of a SIG: A well-constructed SIG increases clarity by providing a well-defined set of descriptions for teams to use when implementing each element of the PLC process. It provides teams with the criteria for assessing their current level of development, tracking their progress, and © by

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• Teachers help others identify barriers that prevent certain populations from full access to education and educate colleagues on ways to prevent these barriers.

• Teachers have a fixed mindset about student abilities and underestimate the power of the culture of care.

• Teachers not only live the school’s mission but also lead others in the work.

• Teachers are mission driven.

• Teachers believe in the school’s culture of collaboration to have quality discussions on race and equity.

• Teachers value relationships with both staff and students.

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• Teachers give minimal effort or only concentrate effort on limited components of the school culture.

• Teachers do not uphold tight practices of the school and school community.

Next-Level PLC

• Teachers work with their teams to conduct home visits and be a visible presence in the neighborhood.

Culture of Care

Mastery of PLC

• Teachers have a growth mindset about student abilities.

identifying next steps they must take to reach a proficient level of performance on each element of the PLC process. Finally, the SIG establishes the standards of best PLC practice that anchor the process of providing feedback. (p. 51)

FIGURE 1.1: SIG for a culture of care. Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks for a free reproducible version of this figure.

• Teachers work with teammates to create a schoolwide relationship-driven behavior system.

• Teachers have a growth mindset about student abilities and understand the power of the culture of care.

• Teachers care enough to take action to improve student learning.

All the items in PLC mastery, plus the following.

• Teachers care enough to take action daily.

• Teachers clearly understand their why for working in the community (that is, to help the school focus on its mission).

Non-PLC

Figure 1.1 shows a SIG with the success criteria for creating a culture of care in a PLC. This SIG and all the other SIGs that appear throughout this book can be found in the appendix starting on page 135.

Level Implementationof Success Criteria

• Teachers are brave race and equity “warriors” who stand up for others and commit to creating a school based on justice and racial equity.

• Teachers make a particular effort to challenge negative attitudes and help ensure others honor all students, particularly those underserved.

Anchor Statement: Teams care enough about students to take action on every practice and policy that has an impact on student learning and equity. Staff must treat students and others with great respect.

• Teachers are actively involved in all collaborative discussions on race and equity and lead collaborative team discussions.

• Teachers understand the power of individual mindsets for creating a culture of care.

• Teacher mindsets are positive, and they never blame students, but focus on creating a culture of care.

• Teachers do not care enough to take action about students or learning.

• Teachers do not uphold the school’s mission in their daily work.

• Teachers do not prioritize building relationships with students and families.

A Culture of Care

c. “I believe all students can learn something, but it is more important that we create a warm and caring environment than fixating on academic achievement.”

2. Have collaborative conversations on race and equity and take action.

5. Conduct home and community visits.

How Do You Create a Culture of Care in Urban Schools?

b. “I believe all students can learn if they take advantage of the opportunities we give them to learn.”

d. “I believe all students can learn, and we should be committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure all students learn at high levels.”

3. Be mission driven.

Creating a culture of care starts with staff—the people who come together every day to make an impact on students. New and veteran staff must make two key characteristics a priority: (1) care about students and (2) care about teammates. The anchor statement for a culture of care states that teams care enough about students to take action on every practice and policy that has an impact on student learning and equity. Do your staff care enough to take action that would make a significant impact on student learning? Urban schools and districts need staff mem bers who care deeply about students. It starts with the hiring process. DuFour and colleagues (2016) state that creating an effective recruitment and selection process to ensure candidates are both a good fit for the PLC process and their collaborative team should be a high priority on every principal’s agenda. The questions to ask of every potential candidate must include: “Do you care about students? How do you demonstrate care for students? Are you a caring team mate?” DuFour and colleagues (2016) provide a template for school leaders to use when hiring to determine whether a candidate is a good fit for a PLC (figure 1.2).

Questions to assess if the candidate is a good fit with the big ideas of a PLC:

6. Create a behavior system focused on relationships.

2. If, at the end of the first semester, you discovered that 50 percent of your students were failing, would it trouble you? (Then drop the percentage: How about 25 percent? 15 percent? 10 percent?)

THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDING12 |

Start With the Staff—the Brilliance in the Building

a. “I believe all students can learn based on their ability.”

1. The purpose of our school is to ensure that all students learn, rather than to make sure they are taught. I’m going to present you with four statements. Please tell me which statement is closest to your personal philosophy and elaborate on your thinking.

4. Strengthen individual mindsets.

A culture of collaboration (see chapter 2, page 31, for more details) is a foundational element for creating a culture of care; teachers cannot provide a caring and supportive environment for students if they work in isolation. Creating a culture of care necessitates a commitment from every staff member. The following sections explore six strategies for creating a culture of care in your urban school.

Is This Candidate a Good Fit for Our PLC?

1. Start with the staff—the brilliance in the building.

16. It’s the end of your first year. I ask you to provide me with evidence you have been an effective teacher. What will you give me?

3. I’m one of your students. Help me understand the essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions I will acquire as a result of being in your classroom.

10. “Do you want to be the teacher with the highest student achievement in our school or a member of a team whose students all achieve at high levels?” (Smith, 2015, p. 6).

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14. What is your reaction to the following statement? “Teachers and students benefit when evidence of student learning is easily accessible and openly shared among members of the teaching team.”

5. How would you respond to this assertion: “The major causes of learning do not fall within the teacher’s sphere of influence. Student learning will be determined primarily by factors such as innate ability, parental support, the socioeconomic conditions in which the student lives, and the beliefs and behaviors of the student’s peer group.”

4. What does the research tell us about effective teaching strategies?

7. What questions do you have for me?

Other important questions to explore:

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3. We have all encountered a student who simply does not want to work, but is not a behavior problem and is not interfering with the learning of others. How have you responded to such a student?

5. What should I have asked you that I didn’t, a question you would want to ask a teaching candidate?

6. If you are offered this position, what could we do to make this a great school year for you?

12. It is important to focus on results, rather than intentions. What is your understanding of the terms formative assessment and summative assessment? Can you cite examples of when and how you have used each of these assessments in your teaching experience? What do you feel is the primary purpose of assessing students?

6. If we are to help all students learn, we must work collaboratively and collectively. How would you respond to the following statement? “A teacher is a professional who deserves wide-ranging autonomy regarding what to teach, how to teach, how to assess, and how to run his or her classroom. I would not presume to advise another teacher how to run his or her classroom, and I would not be receptive to a teacher offering unsolicited advice to me.”

8. Imagine you are on a team that is experiencing significant conflict. How would you respond?

4. One of your colleagues states that there is little a teacher can do to help a student who is just not interested in learning. Would you respond, and if so, how would you respond?

7. Think of a time when you were part of a group or team that led to better results for its members and a more satisfying professional experience. Think of another time when you were part of a group or team, and it was a negative experience. What factors contributed to the difference?

15. It has been said that in most schools,the quality of a student’s work is assessed primarily upon the idiosyncrasies of the teacher to whom that student is assigned. What is your reaction to that statement? Can you think of steps a school might take to provide more consistent feedback to students?

FIGURE 1.2: Is this candidate a good fit for our PLC? Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks for a free reproducible version of this figure. by

11. We say in our vision statement that we will work collaboratively and take collective responsibility for the success of our students. What does that phrase mean to you? Can you give me examples of how a staff might take collective responsibility for student success?

13. What is your reaction to the following statement? “Teachers of the same course or grade level should use common assessments so each member of the team can determine the achievement of his or her students compared to other students attempting to acquire the same knowledge and skills.”

Source: DuFour et al., 2016, pp. 191–192.

1. What is your understanding of the term professional learning community? How would you explain that term to someone completely unfamiliar with it? In what ways, if any, is the PLC process different from traditional schooling?

2. I’m a student in your class the first day. Help me understand your expectations regarding the classroom environment.

9. If you were assigned to a teaching team and encouraged to collaborate, on what questions or issues do you believe the team should focus its efforts?

THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDING14 |

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Muhammad (2015) asserts about race and equity: Race seems to be the most illogical factor regarding the achievement gap, and it strikes the heaviest emotional cord. It seems improbable that we should be able to predict the achievement of a group based on the level of pigmentation or melanin present in peo ple’s skin, but we have been able to track these data for decades. What makes this even more troubling is that race is deemed a social construct . A social construct is a mechanism, phenomenon, or category that develops meaning for individuals or groups through social practice (Herrnstein & Murray, 1994). Therefore, although a person’s race (black, Latino, white, and so on) is generic, people’s ideas and perceptions of that race are socially con structed. In essence, race is only a figment of our imagination. It only has value in our minds and in our social systems. So, race cannot be the problem; the problem must be our percep tion about race and how race has played out in our society historically in a concept called racism. (pp. 15–16) Teachers in caring cultures examine their perceptions about race and issues of racism in society. Formal race and equity discussions involving the entire staff can help guide professional learning on these topics. The discussion time can vary depending on the time available, from thirty minutes to hours-long professional development sessions. The purpose of such discus sions is to educate staff on race, participate in collaborative discussions on race, read about race, and hopefully impact staff perceptions about race. Another major purpose is to take action— How do teachers translate their adult learning and form a caring culture for students? Figure 1.3 shows the race and equity discussion template to guide staff.

1. Do now (read a passage, analyze a picture, watch video, and so on): by

In Introduction:attendance:Greeting, norms, desired outcome Meeting norms:

Staff must have conversations about race and equity to build a culture of care for all students. Team members that meet regularly build trust with one another, and trust is necessary for teams to have these types of discussions.

Once the new staff member joins the team, the leader expects everyone on the team to sup port one another in cultural transformation. As DuFour and colleagues (2016) state, “There is no better way to provide ongoing support for new teachers than to engage them in the work of a high-performing teacher team” (p. 194).

Have Collaborative Conversations on Race and Equity and Take Action

The meeting template in figure 1.3 begins with a do-now section, or a brief activity to start off the meeting. This can be reading a passage or quote, or looking at a picture or video to get staff thinking about race and equity. Use a video clip or a quote from a current event—some thing that is currently happening involving race or equity. Next, the team reviews the team norms. Norms dictate the expectations for behavior during collaborative meetings and help build trust, bringing staff together. Adjust the norms for the race and equity talks for the spe cific topic. For example, norms for race and equity talks could include tell your story, respect one another, listen with empathy, and pass the mic.

of Care | 15 2. Race

Visit

FIGURE

The book talk section of the meeting keeps all staff learning. Leaders should use a book team members can discuss in a meaningful way throughout the entire school year. Select a book that can make an impact immediately. Ask staff to read the material before the meeting or a shorter portion of the book (for five to twenty minutes) during the meeting, depending on the mate rial and time available. Some possible book talk resources include the following. by Solution Tree Press

(tell

The second item on the template is race talk (tell your story). This step helps all staff under stand the brilliance in the building—specifically as it relates to non-White staff members. Staff members should tell their stories about their life experiences. What challenges have they had to overcome regarding race? How has race informed their perspective on education and their profession? This step in the meeting can help staff examine their mindset regarding what chal lenges urban students face, what students are capable of, and what creating a culture of care can do for urban students.

A Culture talk your story): Book talk (individual, group, or whole group): Read designated section. Underline big ideas. Think of action the team can immediately take. Note additional thoughts. Closure (celebrations, encouragement, and action): 1.3: Race and equity discussion meeting template. go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks for a free reproducible version of this figure.

• Fields, H. E., III. (2021). How to achieve educational equity. O’Fallon, MO: Author.

Be Mission Driven One of the first items in PLC transformation is drafting a mission statement. The mission statement answers the questions, What is our purpose? What do we stand for as an organiza tion? What drives our initiatives? (DuFour et al., 2016). One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from my experience with PLC transformation is to be sure to engage in discussions with staff about their purpose, their individual why. Staff who work in urban schools should also have a collective why that connects to their desire to make a difference for students who face the challenges in school.

In A Summing Up, Eaker (2020) states that “leaders spend far too much time on developing a mission statement. After all, the fundamental purpose of schools is fairly obvious—to ensure high levels of learning for all students” (p. 170). When DuFour and colleagues (2021) write, “Do not waste another minute writing a mission statement, but instead begin with the hard work of aligning all of the practices, policies, and procedures of your school with that mission” (p. 89), they mean doing the right work is the most important thing. Educators should not get hung up on writing a mission by overthinking it and consequently failing to take action for PLC transformation. by Solution Tree Press

• Jackson, R. (2019). Becoming the educator they need: Strategies, mindsets, and beliefs for supporting male Black and Latino students. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

• Milner, H. R., IV, Cunningham, H. B., Delale-O’Connor, L., & Kestenberg, E. G. (2018). “These kids are out of control”: Why we must imagine “classroom management” for equity. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

• Kafele, B. K. (2013). Closing the attitude gap: How to fire up your students to strive for success. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

• Kafele, B. K. (2021). The equity and social justice 50: Critical questions for improving opportunities and outcomes for Black students. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDING16 |

• Williams, K. C., & Hierck, T. (2015). Starting a movement: Building culture from the inside out in professional learning communities. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

• Howard, J. R., Milner-McCall, T., & Howard, T. C. (2020). No more teaching without positive relationships. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

The final item in the meeting is closure, which includes celebrations, encouragement, and action. This is an opportunity for teams to celebrate a student or staff member who has been doing a great job in the book talks, has great ideas, or has supported the team in an exceptional way.

• Muhammad, A. (2015). Overcoming the achievement gap trap: Liberating mindsets to effect change. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

• Mayfield, V. (2020). Cultural competence now: 56 exercises to help educators understand and challenge bias, racism, and privilege. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

School culture experts Kenneth C. Williams and Tom Hierck (2015) describe a concept called mission drift as when “staff members simply drift away from a clear understanding of it [the mission] as their day-to-day work moves away from the core focus of the school” (p. 5). Mission drift is real in schools—it impacts a culture of care because staff members forget their why (their purpose) when they are overcome with daily stressors. Having detailed conversations with staff about the why of the work will help stop mission drift and keep the focus of your PLC on the culture of care you are creating so all students learn at high levels. This process can be as simple as having staff members write their why and how for working in the urban area, and then share their reasons with others.

• Using book studies: One way to educate staff about race and equity is through book studies or book talks. Figure 1.3 (page 14) is a tool to help leaders focus the conversation during book talks. (See the list of possible books for study on page 16.)

As Muhammad (2015) notes, “Our thoughts matter. . . . the concept of mindset, which is the established set of attitudes each person has . . . is the summary of our beliefs about the world and how it works, and it acts as a guide for our behaviors and decisions” (p. 51). Educational leader and coach Kristyn Klei Borrero (2019) writes, “Mindsets influence decision making and can empower or disempower relationships with students” (p. 4). Borrero (2019) adds, “While no one becomes a teacher to hold students back from doing their best, somehow, over time, certain mindsets surface subconsciously” (p. 50). Fixed mindsets work against a culture of care. Staff do not believe students are capable of growth. When students are failing to reach learning targets or present behavior problems, for example, staff members make assumptions that stu dents are incapable of more. Author and brain researcher Eric Jensen (2016) says, “Examining old mindsets and sculpting new ones might be the toughest thing you’ve ever done” (p. 17).

A Culture of Care

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Leaders must continue to focus on strengthening staff mindsets to create a culture of care. In a culture of care, it is important for educators to have a growth mindset. Psychologist Carol S. Dweck (2006) explains that people think about intelligence in two ways: (1) you either have it or you don’t (fixed mindset) or (2) you can grow and change (growth mindset). Those with a fixed mindset believe intelligence or competency is a rigid, unchangeable quality; those with a growth mindset believe intelligence and competency can develop over time as the brain changes and grows (Jensen, 2019).

Strengthen Individual Mindsets

I would argue that many educators in urban schools are mission driven and focus on learning for all—it’s the reason they chose to work in urban schools. Many educators may have grown up in urban areas facing poverty, racism, and other challenges; they overcame many obstacles and now want to give back to their communities. In a caring culture, staff members reflect on their purpose for working in the urban community and share their reflections with others.

Leaders can help individual teachers be aware of and begin to improve their mindsets by building shared knowledge using book studies, celebrating evidence of growth in student achievement over short periods of time, hiring teachers who reflect the racial diversity of the school and creating programs that focus on Black and Hispanic individuals, and reflecting on their individual mindsets. The following briefly examines each.

Celebrating evidence of growth in student achievement: Another strategy leaders can use to help improve the mindsets of staff is celebrating student learning growth. The learning block process (see chapter 3, page 57) allows collaborative teams to see the results of their work with students and track learning improvement. This process gives teacher teams confidence they can help all students learn, which leads to a more positive mindset, so celebrate all of those small victories!

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THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDING18 |

An important action step for creating a culture of care is to visit students’ homes and be pres ent in the community. In my experience, visiting homes and being in the community have a significant impact on the way families view the school. Award-winning educational leader Nathaniel Provencio (2021) notes, “Parent and caregiver interest and involvement in their child’s academic work can have profound effects on behavioral and academic outcomes” (p. 14).

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• Reflecting on individual mindsets: The final strategy is for teachers to reflect on their mindsets. Author, educator, and consultant Robert Jackson (2019), in Becoming the Educator They Need, states that “it is imperative to turn your gaze inward and question what limiting and biased beliefs you have about students and teaching that are disadvantaging kids. It’s not always the students. Sometimes it’s the teachers” (p. 49). Educators should constantly reflect on their mindset and be aware of the impact mindset has on students and collaborative team members. Use the actions in this section to improve the mindset of staff to make collaborative teams as powerful as possible.

During every summer of my career, I visit as many student homes as possible. I have con ducted over two thousand home visits. I conduct what I call mass visits, where I (along with the assistant principal and other staff members) visit as many homes as possible in one outing or in a three- to five-day period. We bring selected families a backpack filled with school supplies and also remind all families about the first day of school. We email families before we conduct © by

•

Hiring staff who reflect the racial diversity of the school and creating programs that focus on Black and Hispanic individuals: Another strategy to improve mindset is to bring in more staff who reflect the racial makeup of the student population into the school building, either through the hiring process or by creating programs focused on these individuals, and celebrate their greatness. For example, create a college leadership program for Black and Hispanic students where college students visit the school to mentor students. Students will see people who look like them achieving at high levels. When hiring new staff members and support personnel, be proactive by being visible in the community and asking your own staff about possible candidates for the position. Search for the candidates you want. If you cannot hire anyone, work with the local college or high school to bring young Black and Hispanic leaders to the building to mentor students. Highlight and celebrate their greatness to help staff see their own greatness!

When families see the school cares about their children enough to take extra steps (like visiting homes to show support for students and ensuring that students have the supplies they need to be successful), families are more likely to get involved, leading to better outcomes for students.

Conduct Home and Community Visits

+ Click on the Menu tab (top left corner), and scroll down and click Your Places.

+ Delete any unnecessary columns. Keep name, address, parent names, phone numbers, and any other information that would help staff contact a parent before visiting the student’s home.

A Culture of Care the visits and ask if anyone needs a backpack. An alternative to visiting individual homes is to set up a time to be in a neighborhood (such as in a park or at a neighborhood business), so stu dents and families can pick up their backpack or other supplies.

Home visits get supplies to families and provide an opportunity for staff to meet students and their families, but, most important, they show the community how much you care about the students. It is a visible action step. Do not stay long at each home; pull up, drop off the backpack, wave, tell the family you care, and move to the next one. If your school cannot pro vide backpacks or supplies for students, you can still conduct home visits to greet families andThisstudents.takesa lot of time, so creating an efficient system for home and community visits is a must. Our assistant principal, Brendan Hines, designed the plan in figure 1.4 for creating a home visit map. Directions for creating a home visit map:

+ Select Maps on the tab and then click Create Map.

+ Select all the address columns to set as placemarks, and then click Next.

+ The list may download in an unformatted file type. If it does, select all and copy the data. Open a new spreadsheet using Google Sheets (https://google.com/sheets/about) and paste in the data.

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3. You now have a Google Map with all your students’ addresses loaded. You can share the map with other staff doing home visits with you. You can even download the map in Google Maps on your phone to quickly navigate neighborhoods for home visits.

FIGURE 1.4: Steps for creating a home visit map with Google Maps. Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks for a free reproducible version of this figure.

In addition to visiting homes, all staff should try to make it a point to be visible in the community. In Closing the Attitude Gap, author and highly regarded urban educator Baruti K. Kafele (2013) states the importance of knowing your students’ neighborhoods: Do you know your students’ neighborhoods? Do you understand their neighborhoods? Do you respect their neighborhoods? I remind teachers all of the time that they must be careful when they talk about their students’ neighborhoods because students are their neighbor hoods. When you lack knowledge of your students’ neighborhoods, you lack knowledge of the students. When you lack understanding of your students’ neighborhoods, you lack understanding of the students. When you lack respect for your students’ neighborhoods, you lack respect for your students. (pp. 71–72)

+ Click import to import the Google Sheet you created in step 1 directly into Google Maps.

+ Select all students as a group and export a report. Select a report that includes student addresses and parent phone numbers, such as a transportation list.

2. Open Google Maps (https://google.com/maps).

+ Select First Name to title your placemarks, and then click Finish.

1. Open your school’s information system page (for example, PowerSchool [https://powerschool.com], Aspen Institute [https://aspeninstitute.org/programs/education-and-society-program], and so on).

2. Drive the students with relationships.

3. Demonstrate teacher passion.

THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDING

4. Commit to a culture of learning with high expectations.

Creating a Positive Classroom Culture

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Your culture of care needs a behavior system that focuses on creating, establishing, and main taining relationships between students and staff at its core. Punitive approaches to behavior management hinder achievement; when students are punished, isolated, or suspended, they are not learning (Fleischman, 2005). A system focused on relationships maintains and protects relationships with the students (Fleischman, 2005). Effective teacher-student relationships con tribute to student achievement (Jensen, 2019). Form collaborative teams to create a behavior system, analyze the current system, or work to continuously improve the system. Behavior sys tems should have a common language for behavior expectations and include plans for supporting and improving student behaviors in the classroom. The teams should focus on solutions and taking action rather than complaining about students.

2023 by Solution Tree Press

The most important approach for creating a positive classroom culture is to create a place where the teacher focuses on relationships first—or relationships before content. I use five suc cess criteria for an exemplary classroom that come from over fifteen years of research and reading about best practices and visiting thousands of classrooms, and over twenty years of teaching and classroom visits. Figure 1.5 describes the following five practices for a positive classroom culture.

Create a Behavior System Focused on Relationships

Know the neighborhood and be visible there. It is important to show families you care about their community. Schedule events during the year for families to attend. For example, if there are sports events in the community, visit those events, make your presence known, and support your students. Use social media to highlight the greatness in the neighborhoods. For example, one of my favorite parents was also a barber, and his shop was next to the school. I started going to him to get my hair cut and have continued doing so for nine years. I not only interact with students and families at the shop but also highlight his place on social media. Show families and community members your culture of care extends beyond the walls of the school building.

1. Create a positive climate.

School leaders must take a reflective approach to school systems by creating a positive class room culture, reflecting on systems and action steps, utilizing the learning block process for behavior, and using a collaborative team approach to assist high-need students.

• Teacher encourages, supports, and motivates the students.

• Teacher establishes strong relationships with students.

• Teacher treats all students with respect using great manners: like saying, “Please,” “Thank you,” and “You’re welcome.”

• There is clear evidence of teacher credibility (trust and caring).

• Teacher posts standards for behavior and expectations in the classroom.

• Teacher’s tone of voice, nonverbal body language and gestures, and other behaviors reflect genuine caring and respect for students.

• Teacher loves teaching students, loves the students, and is fair.

FIGURE 1.5: Strategies and criteria for building a positive classroom culture. Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks for a free reproducible version of this figure.

• Teacher never loses his or her cool, never demeans students, and doesn’t use sarcasm.

Strategy Success Criteria

• Teacher relentlessly commits to all students, expects all students to learn at high levels (based on success criteria and learning targets), shares a belief in the importance of learning, maximizes time in the classroom, uses growth-mindset language, and asks rigorous questions for students to answer with top-quality responses.

• Teacher creates a positive learning climate in the room as evidenced by interactions between the teacher and students.

5. Implement norms and procedures.

• Evidence of the teacher using restorative practices like questioning, conversations, circles, class meetings, re-entry meetings, and the 2 × 10 strategy (a two-minute conversation at least ten times)

1. Create a positive climate.

• Teacher establishes class norms, routines, and procedures using precise directions for students.

• Teacher makes relationships a priority in the classroom and has a clear action plan for building and maintaining relationships using verbal and nonverbal behaviors that indicate affection for students, understanding of students’ interests, and control.

• Teacher expects all students to participate and work hard, and challenges all students to think critically.

• Teacher has a system to recognize students for following classroom norms.

3. Demonstrate teacher passion.

• Teacher has enthusiasm and a joy for teaching students.

• Teacher uses nonverbal corrections, positive group correction, and private conferences to demonstrate respect for students and provide least-invasive forms of intervention.

• Teacher believes all students can learn and behave in the classroom.

2. Drive the students with relationships.

• Teacher acknowledges and recognizes students’ efforts.

4. Commit to a culture of learning with high expectations.

• Teacher establishes and communicates learning targets and success criteria.

A Culture of Care

• Teacher brings great energy to the classroom every day for students.

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• Teacher uses grade-level assignments and challenges so all students can be successful.

• Teacher believes every student was born for greatness and values reluctant learners.

• Positive energy is evident in the classroom.

• Teacher narrates the positive regularly, especially during independent and group practice.

School Program, Policy, or Procedure into the

To create a behavior system that focuses on relationships, teams must take a broader view of the school, reflect on daily practices, and take action. This can be a challenge for some educators because they are used to focusing on just their classroom or space. A broader reflection forces staff to focus on all school operations to measure the effectiveness of the behavior system. The key discussion point should always be student safety. Teams must review drop-off and pickup, building entry, transitions, building exit, and open spaces procedures to ensure students are as safe as possible. Evaluate every practice, policy, and procedure on the basis of behavior. Teams must also discuss the current behavior system focus. What are the expectations? Do students know the expectations? Do staff know the expectations? Teams can use figure 1.6 to reflect on the current systems and create a plan for revising or creating a schoolwide behavior system. Measure effectiveness by analyzing behavior incidents. The goal is to reduce the number of inci dents by location. Create a plan to have staff at each location where incidents occur, and plan staff relationship-building opportunities as staff monitor areas of the school, such as greeting every student, smiling as students enter the building, and engaging in conversations.

Reflection Action Steps School entry

THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDING22 |

building • Bus drop-off • Parent drop-off • Walkers • How do we handle visitors during this time? • What spaces in the school must we monitor during this time? Breakfast•Dostudents have the opportunity to eat breakfast? • Do we have staff to monitor breakfast? • How do students transition after breakfast? Homeroom•Dowehave homeroom? • What is the procedure to organize students in homeroom? Transitions•Isthere proper supervision and support in the hallways? • Are all staff outside their classrooms greeting students? • What about support staff? • Where will the most students be during transitions? Cafeteria•Howdo students get to the cafeteria? • Who monitors the cafeteria? • What are cafeteria behavior expectations? • How do students know the expectations? • How can we make the cafeteria experience enjoyable? • How do students exit the cafeteria? © 2023 by Solution Tree Press

Reflecting on Systems and Action Steps

A Culture of Care | 23 Assemblies•Whatspaces do we use for assemblies? • What are entry and pickup procedures? School dismissal from the building • What do bus drop-off and pickup look like? • What does parent pickup look like? • Where do walkers go after school? • How is that working? Length of classes • How long are classes? • Would having longer classes have a positive impact on student learning and also reduce transitions? Describe the system for behavior support. Does it focus on relationships first? Describe common behavior expectations systemwide. Describe ways we recognize and celebrate students. Describe the staff-student relationships in the school. Action plan: FIGURE 1.6: Reflection on behavior system. Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks for a free reproducible version of this figure. © 2023 by Solution Tree Press

The purpose of the learning block process is to analyze data to create plans to support all students, especially students who need behavioral assistance. This assistance should not remove students from significant class instructional time. As coauthors John Hannigan, Jessica Djabrayan Hannigan, Mike Mattos, and Austin Buffum (2021) state, discipline that removes students from instruction “adds the proverbial insult to injury; it does not effectively improve the behavior, and these students fall further behind academically, which compounds behavior problems” (p. 19).

Learning blocks are cycles of planning, teaching, and assessing, and using results to take action. They are blocks of time in which teachers collaborate to discuss and select priority behavior standards, success criteria, and progress-monitoring tools (like behavior referrals), and to ana lyze data to take action. Read more about the learning block process for learning planning and assessment in chapter 3 (page 57). Here, I will discuss this process as it relates to behavior.

3. What will we immediately do for the students and classes who did not meet behavior standards? Collaborative teams reflect individually on their own data to improve performance. Teams then review their data, choose a priority behavior to review over the next learning block, and create an action plan. The entire staff then meets and creates an action plan. Teams also can discuss selected students who may need an intervention plan or collaborative team approach for significant behavioral needs.

Researcher Mary Ann Lachat (2002) explains: Collecting and analyzing meaningful data about the characteristics and academic perfor mance of students, and about school organization and management, helps under-resourced, underperforming, and highly diverse schools “identify achievement gaps, address equity issues, determine the effectiveness of specific programs and courses of study, and target instructional improvement. (p. 3)

THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDING24 |

1. What priority behaviors do we expect students to display? Staff should discuss and review priority behavior standards and come up with a list of two to four. I suggest putting standards together into an acronym, like RAFT—see figure 1.7. It is also important to include success criteria for mastering the behavior standard (see figure 1.7).

Utilizing the Learning Block Process for Behavior

2. How will we know when each student has learned the behavior expectations? To determine this, review school behavior data.

Schools can improve schoolwide discipline by collecting and using data to develop and monitor individual, class, and school interventions (Fleischman, 2005). Data help staff identify aspects of the school environment they should change to prevent problem behaviors (Fleischman, 2005).

Using learning blocks for behavior management is important when creating a culture of care because every adult in the building is involved in creating a plan for the culture. Teachers and teams must regularly monitor behavior. Teams can select the length of time they want between learning units for behavior (for example, every three months). There are four steps to the learning block behavior process that align with the four PLC critical questions.

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Leaders must use the brilliance in the building to support these students. Search for staff who have relationships with high-need students and find ways for them to connect with these stu dents daily. This might be an office staff member, a support staff member, a security guard, or a custodian.Forexample, when I was a classroom teacher, we had some boys in the school who exhibited very challenging behaviors like fighting, swearing, and severely disrupting class on a daily basis. I decided to work with them by creating a basketball team. Most of the high-need students in grades 4–6 played on the team. The players had to attend practice. After losing our first seven games, we went on a six-year streak, winning 85 to 90 percent of our games in the city elemen tary league. It wasn’t about the wins, though. The wins gave students immediate gratification, but in the long term, they felt better about themselves, had more confidence, and took pride in themselves and their accomplishments. Most important, almost every student on the team improved his or her grades, behavior, and attendance. Students were no longer receiving behavior referrals. They were not getting suspended. There was a positive impact on the entire school.

FIGURE 1.7: Sample priority behaviors and success criteria.

4. How will we immediately recognize and celebrate the students and classes mastering behavior standards? Teams discuss ways to celebrate and recognize students and staff on a regular basis.

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A Culture of Care | 25

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Respect others. Demonstrate responsible verbal and physical interactions with peers and adults. Be kind. Respect property and materials. learn. Do not interfere with the learning of others. Be an assessment-capable learner. Stay focused in the classroom and complete all priority tasks. Follow directions. Attend school and be on time. Make responsible decisions. Demonstrate self-control. Try hard. Be prepared for school and class. Stay motivated and engaged. Give your best effort daily.

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Priority (AcademicBehaviorsandBehavior)

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Success Criteria

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Using a Collaborative Team Approach to Assist High-Need Students

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In a PLC, there is a shift from my students to our students, which is the basis of a collabo rative approach to managing the behavioral issues of high-need students—or students who are experiencing behavioral or other challenges that put them in danger of failure. Question three in the preceding section discusses these students, and their need for a team-created interven tion plan (see chapter 4, page 87).

Always

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Search for the brilliance in the building to create special groups to support high-need stu dents, for example, a group that meets twice a week during lunch to discuss leadership skills, or a group that meets once a week to listen to speakers, read motivational books, and partici pate in team-building activities.

Multiple schools where I have worked created such a program. Teachers or other staff mem bers met with high-need students to start the day to discuss their previous day and evening, and how they were feeling that morning. If the student had a bad evening, the student stayed with the staff member to discuss and create a plan for the day. During the day, staff visited the classes of the students with plans to see how they were doing and to encourage them. After school, staff met with the students, reviewed their day, and called their parents for positive rea sons if the students were successful. Students who met their goals stayed after school with me to play sports in the gym. Staff constantly checked in with the students to motivate and encour age. This reduced students’ referrals by approximately 95 percent.

THE BRILLIANCE IN THE BUILDING26 |

Another example comes from my first year as a principal. Our school had several boys who were struggling behaviorally, with some getting in fights, not going to class, or disrupting class.

Another way to help the most high-need students is to create a check-in and checkout men toring program as part of an intervention action plan (see chapter 4, page 87, for more about intervention action plans). A staff member checks in with specific high-need students, builds relationships, and helps the students become successful in class by meeting with them before school to motivate them for the day, and then meeting again at the end of school for these stu dents to review the day.

Summary Create a culture of care, where all adults in a school care about students, and show that care can have a significant impact in urban schools. In this chapter, I reviewed six action steps leaders can take to create a culture of care: (1) ensure current staff care about students and create an effective recruitment and selection process to ensure candidates are a good fit, (2) collaborate to facilitate discussions and actions on race and equity, (3) be mission driven, (4) strengthen individual mindsets, (5) conduct community and home visits, and (6) create a behavior system focused on relationships. Do you and your staff care enough to take action? Use the reproducible “Reflection and Action Plan for a Culture of Care” (page 28) to determine your next steps.

We created a program called Team Fitness. Every day, the students met to work out, discuss leadership, set goals, and talk about their day. At the end of the year, the entire team went on a field trip to the University of Connecticut. Students in the group changed their behavior dras tically, and several went on to college. Two of the students decided to work in our school as college leaders, one while attending the University of Connecticut, and the other while attending the University of Bridgeport.

A Culture of Care Reading

I recommend the following resources to get your team started in creating a culture of care in your Aguilar,school.E.(2020).

Coaching for equity: Conversations that change practice. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass. Borrero, K. K. (2019). Every student, every day: A No-Nonsense Nurturer® approach to reaching all learners. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Fields, H. E., III. (2021). How to achieve educational equity. O’Fallon, MO: Author. Hannigan, J., Hannigan, J. D., Mattos, M., & Buffum, A. (2021). Behavior solutions: Teaching academic and social skills through RTI at Work Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Howard, J. R., Milner-McCall, T., & Howard, T. C. (2020). No more teaching without positive relationships Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Jackson, R. (2019). Becoming the educator they need: Strategies, mindsets, and beliefs for supporting male Black and Latino students Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Kafele,Development.B.K.(2013).

Closing the attitude gap: How to fire up your students to strive for success Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Kafele, B. K. (2021). The equity and social justice 50: Critical questions for improving opportunities and outcomes for Black students Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Kendi,Development.I.X.(2019). How to be an antiracist New York: One World. Mayfield, V. (2020). Cultural competence now: 56 exercises to help educators understand and challenge bias, racism, and privilege. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Milner,Development.H.R.,IV,Cunningham, H. B., Delale-O’Connor, L., & Kestenberg, E. G. (2018). “These kids are out of control”: Why we must imagine “classroom management” for equity Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Minor, C. (2019). We got this: Equity, access, and the quest to be who our students need us to be Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Muhammad, A. (2015). Overcoming the achievement gap trap: Liberating mindsets to effect change Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Provencio, N. (2021). Community connections and your PLC at Work: A guide to engaging families Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Williams, K. C., & Hierck, T. (2015). Starting a movement: Building culture from the inside out in professional learning communities. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. by Solution Tree Press

| 27 Additional

The Brilliance in the Building © 2023 Solution Tree Press • SolutionTree.com Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks to download this free reproducible. REPRODUCIBLE28 | Reflection and Action Plan for a Culture of Care Use the following reflection questions to think about your practice and how you can take immediate action using the strategies and tools in this chapter. • Do you care enough to have meaningful discussions on race and equity? Explain the last time you had a meaningful discussion on race and equity . • Do you care enough to live the school’s mission? Explain What actions can you take to show you are mission driven? • Do you care enough to reflect on your mindset and expectations to create a culture of care? What actions can you take to display a positive mindset? page 1 of 2 © 2023 by Solution Tree Press

The Brilliance in the Building © 2023 Solution Tree Press • SolutionTree.com Visit go.SolutionTree.com/PLCbooks to download this free reproducible. REPRODUCIBLE | 29 • Do you care enough to get into the community and conduct home visits? Do your staff visit students’ homes? • Do you care enough to establish and improve relationships with students? How do you improve relationships outside the classroom? Action Step Tool to Use for This Action Step (Add table or figure number and page number.) page 2 of 2 © 2023 by Solution Tree Press

ISBN 978-1-954631-23-6 9 7 8 1 9 5 4 6 3 1 2 3 6 9 0 0 0 0 in the Building •••••

The Brilliance in the Building

Articles inside

How Do You Create a Culture of Care in Urban Schools?

What Is a Culture of Care, and Why Is It Important for Urban Schools?

Reflection and Action Plan for a Culture of Care

Additional Reading

About This Book

The Challenges in Urban Education

A Quick Review of the PLC Process

Summary