What'sthe Gonnection Between C.S.l. and a Dayin the Life of a Principal?

By Dr. Paula A. Calabrese

C,S.r.is only a television sez'es, but L.S.l. is a reality series in which principals take a leading role among a diverse casf of characters who often require them to go off script and ad lib to make it through the instructional day. C.S.r., CrimeScene lnvestigation, a popular is television serieswhosepremise principal. special hasdirect application the roleof the school to The agents are portrayed insatiable consistently as examiners crimescenes of seeking objective, irrefutable evidence identify perpetrator bring investigation a to the the to and period close...allwithin a 60-minute time including commercials. lf therewerea television featuring dailyworkof principals,mightbe the it series principals calledL.S.r., LearningScene Investigation. Although weardozensof hats: theyarecounselors, managers, facilitambdiators, disciplinarians, leaders, tors,and mostimportantly, master teachers. Theyare alsoLearning Scenelnvestigators.In thatrole,it is particularly important themnotonlyto knowand underfor standbestpractices teaching learning, alsoto demonstrate in mastery of and but And thosepractices theysupervise classroom as their teachers. the goodnewsis thattheyhaveat least180days, without to theirinvestigacommercials, conduct provide interventions tions,identify needs theirteachers, the of differentiated and improve student achievement. the Although master teacher instructional and leader thetop hats, primary are principals, to the responsibilities of theserolesareoftensetaside manage crises plan list. thatwreakhavoc witheveryprincipal's management anddaily"to-do" time is L.S.l., supervision teachers, the task of Unfortunately alsoknown formative as mostfrequently neglected to circumstances whichoftenappear be beyond to due the control principals. of the So,howdo principals theirinvestigative as L.S.l., don hats escape confines themfromtheir of that of theiroffices takecontrol thesedistractions separate and providing informative feedback mostimportant responsibility critical and challenge: proficient and teachers? to teachers ensure to student achievement to retain plan, a a Offering timemanagement suggesting to-dolistand recommending a get-organized-quick those wouldbe the easywayout.Formostprincipals, formula theseconcepts. In knowandpractice ideas untenable. fact,mostprincipals are parents, office administration, commuThecatchis thatstudents, facilities, central places things veryoftenmakethe principal's nitymembers otherpeople, and and "to-do" a "no-can-do In otherwords, not list list." school getsin theway.That's life they the responsibilities, rather, but to saythatschool is notamong principals' life immediately. So, veryoftenseemmoreurgent appear needaddressed and to formative againbitesthe dust. supervision in Howcantheymakea difference Howcanprincipals become L.S.l.? truly an The formative of the livesof students through supervision teachers? verysimple, priorities. butchallenging answer to setand maintain is Develop Leadership a Resultsand Evidence List Label leftcolumn Resu/fs the Geta yellow legalpadand maketwo columns. the You'll of Beinga Visible L.S./.Labelthe rightcolumn Resu/fs Beinglnvisible. the of
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About the Author: Dr. Paula A. Calabrese transitioned from asslsfanf executive director of the Education Division of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit #3, the largest intermediate unit in Pennsylvania, to independe nt educationalconsultantin 2003. Dr. Calabreseis the president and founder of Cardinal Consulting Group, lnc. which connectspeople, resources and resu lts through professionaI developmentfor admini strators, teachers and paraprofe ssiona/s. Her area of focus is formative supervision of teachers, application of the Charlotte Danielson framework for professional development and differentiated supervisionmodel and process. She served as a Distinguished Educator for the Pennsylvania Departmentof Education for three years and in this capacity, she worked with teachers and administratorsin the Duquesne City and Wilkinsburg Borough Schoo/ Dlsfrlcfs.Dr. Calabrese began her educationalcareer in the CatholicDiocese of Pittsburgh Schoolsas an elementary teacher. She later took posrtions of reading specialistin the PIum Borough and Woodland Hills School Districts.

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you Howdo youfeelwhen portant urgqnt items. and l? of the majority yourtimein Quadrant Workspend stress that causes in ingconsistently thisquadrant Now, and physicalfatigue. think in canresult mental listed the most are ll. aboutQuadrant Theactivities important rolesand Figure 1 responsibiliResults ol Belng Invlsible: Resultr ol Belng o Visible L.5.1.: tiesof the of No Evidence Engagement ol Evidence Engogement principal. Theyare don't seeme veryoften Teachers 1 see 1 Teachers rneface-to-face theones don't seeme outsidernyoffice Students 2 see Students meface-to-face 2 that,when donewell, mayview me as aloofor uninParents 3 andviewme see Parents me out andabout 3 job provide formed asapproachable life from school satisfaction to I appear be disengaged 4 in 4 lappeartobe engaged the lifeof the andbuild school with a positive interactions out 5 I miss on inforrnal learnmoreaboutthe teachers I informally 5 enand school teachers students andstudents in vironment inappropriately maybehave Students 6 knowthatl'll be in theirclass6 Students with others'learnfor everyand classrooms interfere theirbehavior rooms monitor to one.When ing in duties Students willthinkthat I won't seethem, knowthatl'llbe in the corridors Students Quadrant won't knowthem anddon'tcareabout andwill seethemasthey moveabout ll aren't them addressed a mightbecome majorcrisis A minorissue at by I canaverta crisis intervening an early 8 8 overtime, withoutearly intervention stage theymove questions concerns mayfester and quickly 9 Simple questions that will reI cananswer 9 intoQuadiate without immed answers before they escalate solveissues rantI and l'rn that l'm not available, evidence 1 0 I provide l'm l'm evidencethat available, 1 0 I provide become l'm l'm not engaged, not interested, not and l'm l'm engaged, interested, suppottive and urgent thoughin rnyheartI want suppofive...even gathering of evidence effecl'm consistently forcethe to to be,but there'sno realevidence show in and tiveteaching learning my school pr i nc i pal to that I am. workunder and stress perhaps of the reduce quality the work.Procrastiof GatherEvidence DailyTime Usage I Quadrantcrill on of Highly nating Quadrant itemscreates Habits book,The Seven ln his bestselling percentages yourtimeyouspend of what ses.Decide Coveyasksthe authorStephen People, Effective you really where then in eachquadrant, determine "Howdo I spendmy time?" goeson to He question, yourtime.Setyourpripurpose should andneedto spend quadrant The chart. a it answer through time you outcomes want on based the student howtimeis spentthrough- orities of the chartis to analyze (Visithttp:// for to achieve yourschool. not that outthe day in termsof activities are urgent, p. u ri www.paess orgli mag es/sto es/doc ments/ and and important notimportant anycombiurgent, pdf to downIoad admi nistratorlquadrant-cha rt3. thereof. nation Chart) Figure2 - TimeQuadrant the Review lists chart. the Examine timequadrant principal's workday. of that of activities aretypical a to part Teachers Also BecomeL.S.l. Empower Addothertasksthatarea regular of the daily are Nowthatyourpriorities set,let'sgettheminto Where theyfit?Takesometimeto anado schedule. to with meeting explain action starting a faculty by that of lyzetheamount timespenton activities apyourtimeandactions. will and howyourpriorities govern pearto be important, are really important not but is an as thatyourpriority a principal to create Affirm Delete Thosearethe timewasters. noturgent. are can in possible. im- environment whichteachers teachsuccessfully out Check the extent themto thefullest do but getresults bothcolumns, whichresults you in priorities on based Set wantto achieve? your really you for outcomes wantto achieve your thestudent the that Lookfor the evidence produces reschool. (SeeFigure1 below) suftsyou hopeto achieve.
1

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2011 September 28 Administrator

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Figure 2 Time Quadrant Chart

URGENT
? DECIDE WHAT TO TAKE ON BASED ON EVIDENCE, NECESSITIES OBLIGATIONS Manage crises Address pressing problems Deal with emergencies Complete deadline driven projects Attend required meetings Resolve student discipline issues Mediate parent and community issues

NOT URGENT
GO! QUALITY LEADERSHIP LONG TERM TIME SAVERS Prepare for supervisory visits Collect and analyze student and teacher data Prevent crises by proactive stance Plan for student achievement Build relationships within whole community Empower teachers Conduct formative supervision of teachers Conduct summative evaluation of teachers Be visible to students, teachers, parents Build a Professional Learning Community Keep up with professional reading Participate in professional organizations Grow professionally; be a lifelong learner Take care of own health and well-being
% of time spent

IMPORTANT

% of time spent

II

NOT IMPORTANT

CAUTION! DECEPTIVE ACTIVITIES THAT APPEAR IMPORTANT AT THE TIME BUT ARE NOT PRODUCTIVE Interruptions in person, by phone, by email Some phone calls Some U.S. mail and email Unplanned meetings

STOP! NON CONSTRUCTIVE TIME WASTERS, TIME ABUSERS Trivia Busywork Escape activities Irrelevant mail Excessive TV

III % of time spent

% of time spent

IV

Continuedfrom previous page

andstudents learn. can Explain you'lldo thisby that engaging teachers moreopportunities formative in for supervision. Take timeto helpteachers the recognize differthe encesbetween formative supervision summative and in evaluation termsof purposes outcomes. and Guide themin gathering evidence effective of teaching and (SeeFigure below) learning, 3

Principals weardozens different may of hats,but noneis morecritical thanthatof L.S.l.Gathering evidence effective of leadership, management time andteacher empowerment makea principal can a veryspecial agentindeed. Formoreinformation, contact author the at paula@cardinalconsultinggroup.net.

SUPE lSlON: FormativeAssessm RV ent

Figure 3 EVATUATION: ati Summ ve Assessment Assesses ll,comprehens performa a overa ive nce; process regulated, lidation va
Fulfills Cornmonwealth's obligation protectchilto d r e nf r o m h a r m

growthand development; Focuses teacher on an process instructive

Recognizes complexity teaching the of

High lights instructiona I strategies

-instructiona lncludes instructiona non both I and I duties

Encourages collegia I relationshwithsuperuisor Relates evaluator hierarchical, ip in authoritative to manner

Acknowledges expertfse both partfes the of Viewsevaluator havinggreaterexpetise a nd as knowledge

Differentiates based teacher's on individual needs

rneasures isdueproand Holds standardized to cess oriented

Viewsobseruer a dramacritic;teachersplaya as role

Viewsobseruer a suppofterwith strategies as to share; informsinstruction

teacherto primary be L,S,l, gathers, who Allows teacher supervisorto and collaborate as Requires partners gathering analyzing evidence competence of to L,S.l. in and evidence analyzes presents and the evaluator o f t e a c h i na n dl e a r i n g g n

References Covey, Stephen. (1996). The Seven Habitsof Highly Effective People. New York City, NY: Simon and Shuster. Danielson,Charlotte and Thomas L. McGreal. (2000). TeacherEvaluation To Enhance ProfessionalPracflce.Alexandria,VA: Associationfor Supervision and Curriculum Development. Theoryinto Practice(2"dEdition)Hoboken,NJ: Wiley and Sons. Nolan,J. and Hoover,L. (2008).TeacherSupervision Evaluation: and Attribution the analogy of Sarver,EdwardJ. (2003).Friend,Colleague and FormerSuperintendent the SouthernLehighSchoolDistrict. of between C.S.l.and L.S.l.

Administrator 2011 29 September