Expectations: A New Perspective After Attending the 2010 LEARNING-FOCUSED National Conference - Dr.

Barbara McSwain
Feb 15, 2010

Dr. Ken Meyers, principal of Kissimmee Elementary, sends out a weekly newsletter to his staff. After attending the LEARNING- FOCUSED National Conference on February 1 - 3, 2010 these were his reflections:

Every session I went to this past week at the 2010 National Learning-Focused Conference highlighted expectations. I listened to discussions on the expectations a district should have of the schools after spending time and resources to implement LFS, to the expectations principals should have for staff members trained in LFS, and to teachers having expectations for students to achieve. As the expectations become more demanding of us as principals and teachers, "doing" school and teaching the same ways we have done in the past become less acceptable.

The expectations are that I will run this school based on research and evidence of successful methods and that we will teach using research based strategies. LFS is that set of strategies. We are an LFS school. I have said before that we are like doctors diagnosing the learning needs of children, and just as a doctor must use the most current applications and procedures of medical treatment, so we must use the most current applications and procedures of teaching and learning. We may not like the spot light that expectations bring to our school and classrooms, but without it we might not see clearly enough what we need to change.

In light of expectations, here are three questions Professional Learning Communities should be asking at each meeting: "Is there something we need to stop doing that plainly isn't working? Is there something we are doing but need to do more of? Is there something we need to start doing that research says works?" If we teach the way we always taught and expect different results we are kidding ourselves and we are content to blame any number of variables for our own failure.

The bottom line is that I am responsible for the learning in this school. You are responsible for the learning in your classrooms.

Note: Kissimmee Elementary is a LEARNING-FOCUSED Preferred School. It is a school that is on a continuous improvement path and is highly impacted in the majority of No Child Left Behind cells for Adequate Yearly Progress. The school made AYP in 2008 and became an "A" Florida School in 2009. Dr. Meyers has an open invitation to all teachers to perform walkthroughs with him so they can collaborate and see what is and isn't working, so together they can continue to improve instructional practices.