Dr. Alberto Vazquez Matos

Chief of Staff

Hil lsborough County Publ ic Schools

EDUCATIONALLEADERSHIP& ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

“A school of excellence is not about who we accept into our schools, but who we give

back out to society-Productive citizens for the world”

Reflect on your leadership journey What experiences have led you here? What have you done in your life that indicates leadership

capacity?Know your story of leadership – understanding your

history and what has led you to this point will allow you to more authentically lead.

A LEADERSHIP JOURNEY

Context for leadership – what has worked in one time and place may not work in another. Great leaders make history or… History makes great leaders

You are chosen…uniquely chosen to be here today, in your role as a Administrators for Educational Institutions.

As people contributing to society, we believe that it is our obligation to give back to our community as effective school educators.

“The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is pi led high with difficulty, and we must r ise with the

occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.”Abraham Lincoln

TIME & PLACE

Growth = Leadership + InnovationG = L + I

GROWTH

We must continually challenge our closely held assumptions – what was right as recently as a decade ago may not be so today

After careful professional consideration and analysis we have to be willing to disrupt ourselves personally as well as professionally if it is in the best interest of students

This task is beyond just public school educators: the whole academic arena has to be involved in promoting quality public education

Growth, however, should never be one dimensional – this isn’t solely about teacher performance, or even academic achievement. Results from succeeding in areas of Mentoring, Excellence,

Service Learning, and Student Leadership

LEADERSHIP

In order to create long term growth and sustainability schools need to have strong leaders who focus on establishing clear Vision and Mission (culture), rigorous academics (excellence) and active stewardship (service learning and leadership).

It should be our primary focus – effective leadership eliminates minor problems and mitigates large ones.

Leadership in Mission Core of all that we do

Leadership in Excellence Rigor and laser focus on student learning measured by data

Leadership in Stewardship We are not owners but inheritors; obligation is to continuously

improve for future generations – return with increase

INNOVATION

Schools need to adapt and innovate to meet the needs of the 21st century family and student. The ways that have worked in the past will not in the future so change is a requirement for growth.

Technology IntegrationCurriculum Innovation

Language immersion, FSS, Blended learning, etc. We are limited only in our imaginations – tap into

what you are passionate about. Let us re-imagine!

“Leaders breathe new life into organizations by insisting that the people and the organization need to

adapt to changes in the outside environment. Given the speed and complexity of external change today, leaders

need to stimulate internal change to keep up. “The basic idea is that if your organization is not

changing and growing, it is dying.” Blessings for Leaders, Dan Ebener (p. 82)

INNOVATION

My intent is not to give you the reasons why to implement but to identify things to do when you commit to move forward

Applies to any tough decision you make Leadership has to come from you as a district or local leader –

can’t delegate to others when a tough decision needs to be made

Good to Great by Jim Collins Level 5 Leadership Confront the Brutal Facts

Five Leadership Principles Stick to your Core Relationships Reflect Confront with Tact Breadth vs. Depth

Reflective questions

LEADERSHIP & PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

Paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will – ambitious for the organization’s sake, not your own

Look to set a path that will lead to even greater success after you leave – set your successor(s) up to succeed How do you ensure your district or school succeeds and grows

for the next 100 years? What steps do you take right now to help ensure that it does?

Passionate need to produce sustained results with workman like diligence

Look out the window when there are successes and in the mirror when there are failures

Level 5 Leaders attribute much of their success to luck and others rather than personal input - humility

LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP

To lead is to make decisions; to make decisions is to displease some who are being led… Decision making can cause anger and frustration with key

stakeholders Key is to have a core:

‘All about the kids’ ‘All students will learn’ ‘Compassion, care, good character will be tangible

throughout the school’Return to the core when key decisions need to be

made and you will be consistent It will earn you respect but not always love

STICK TO YOUR CORE

Relationships drive everythingKey in any leadership role but especially in schools

Daniel storyEmpathy is a key leadership trait

Understand what people are going through Active listening is important

All relationships are important but don’t let adult issues affect the students

Presence establishes relationships Invest time in knowing names and histories of principals,

teachers, etc.

RELATIONSHIPS

What core principle is central to you as a leader? Think specifically about instructional leadership: what is a non-negotiable for you as a school leader?

Over the long term how can you set up your successor to see academic growth and success for students?

How do you ensure that the focus of any decision is student focus vs concern about adult perceptions? In other words, how do you ensure that adult issues don’t influence how you make decisions?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

In order to grow into greatness, you must face the brutal facts of your current reality

You should create a culture wherein people have a tremendous opportunity to be heard and for the truth to be heard – especially by the leader. Lead with questions, not answers Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion Conduct autopsies, without blame Create red flag mechanisms that turn information into

information that cannot be ignored

CONFRONT THE BRUTAL FACTS

“My job is to turn over rocks and look at the squiggly things, even if what you see can scare the hell out of you.” (Fred Purdue, p. 72, G2G)

Mistakes will be made – know that from the outset – but the only bad mistake is one that you don’t learn from

Good leaders are continually reflecting on their work and they are continually trying to further develop themselves professionally

Carve out time at the end of each day to reflect on what has happened – good and not so good – and be honest about how you can improve moving forward.

Write daily at the end of the day to reflect openly about the challenges and successes you experienced

REFLECT

Conflict is part of leadership but how you handle conflict will determine your success.

Two stereotypes: The table pounder The ostrich

Neither is effective – a good leader confronts the issue in a tactful way that allows the employee to know what is expected, how to get there and what the leader will do to assist in the process

Issues need to be addressed – documentation is important as is positive and constructive feedback.

CONFRONT WITH TACT

Extended Learning Time – Bell to BellDepth, Differentiation, STEMFrom www.timeandlearning.org

Make Every Minute Count (Depth) – Maximize every minute Homework collection, busywork, time off task

Individualize Learning Time and Instruction (Differentiation) Remediation, Enrichment, Acceleration Mitigate homework and increase classwork

Strengthen instruction and relentlessly assess, analyze, and respond to student data To do this well requires time

Look at the issue as a professional educator and have confidence in your expertise

LEADERSHIP IN EXCELLENCE

What is a brutal fact that I must confront regarding instruction and learning in public schools in this district?

What in my district do I have absolute trust in, regardless of the present reality?

What is some adversity that I am facing now that I have to deal with head on?

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS

Gordon Bennett: “You can’t control the length of your life but you can control the depth of your life.”

Same for your leadership tenure – plan for each year as if it is your last.

Think long term but know that every day requires you to bring your best – and to lead your staff to do the same.

Focus energy internally – don’t obsess over things which are out of your control.

GO BIG: DEPTH V. BREADTH

When faced with a large problem, the inclination is to look for a larger solution Might not be the best approach Small, practical improvements can build momentum

Think of the problems we face as a giant hole. We have stopped digging, now time to fill the hole There is no big boulder, so we have to put rocks and

pebbles in every single day…

LARGE PROBLEM, SMALL SOLUTION

“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know

you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from

discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.”

Sir Winston Churchill