SamTastic Weekly Tip: 3/17/25 - Celebrate your Success and Plan Your Next Steps

This week’s tip: Celebrate your Success and Plan Your Next Steps

Your Time Change Coach will be meeting with you soon to complete the annual SAM process performance rubric.  This is done in an hour-long SAM Daily Meeting, facilitated by your coach, in April or the first two weeks of May.

Last year TimeTrack users gave the annual assessment session very high marks.  The joy of combining celebration of success with plans for next steps was the most common comment.

Here are two comments from last year’s assessment:

The process is great. I like having a SAM and a coach to help us leverage TimeTrack. I am more intentional about having to think about things and planning ahead to meet the needs of the schools I serve. That reflection with the SAM is key! It is great to have that time to think about what I am doing. I want to thank my SAM! You can talk through things and get them planned out.

The daily meeting is critical to holding me accountable. The cadence of the daily meeting is absolutely essential to better outcomes for kids. It also helps us to track our progress by reviewing data. Leslie knows that helping me be accountable will keep me on track at not taking on tasks that are not mine to do, which would keep me from the important work of participating with teachers weekly in planning, maintaining my observation schedule, and planning feedback.

When you examine the rubric, you’ll see it starts with the basic elements of the SAM process: scheduling in advance, at/above goal, use of First Responders, use of time data and the SAM Daily Meeting.  It then moves forward to consider the impact on teacher practice and student learning.  One SAM shared what she learned last year during the assessment:

If we don’t do the SAM process basics, we don’t have the data to connect our work with improved teacher practice.  The SAM Daily Meeting must go beyond scheduling at/above goal and follow-up sessions.  I must use the data daily…share a chart of the work my principal has done with a teacher and ask if the teacher is getting better…and if not, what next?

You can access the rubrics by clicking the orange logo, upper left on your TimeTrack and selecting Written Tools for SAM teams.

Note: It is budget time in most schools and districts.  Be sure to budget for your SAM services for the 2025-26 school year.  You can request an invoice now by using this link:  https://bit.ly/40GtA33

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• Leading Successfully When Viewpoints Differ: A Set of 20-Minute Tools   https://bit.ly/NSIP_Toolkit   You are welcome to share the link with colleagues and friends.

SamTastic Weekly Tip: 3/10/25 - Plan for the 19th Annual National SAM Conference and Get a Free Book

This week’s tip: Plan for the 19th Annual National SAM Conference and Get a Free Book

For the last five weeks we’ve shared videos from the 18th Annual National SAM Conference.  This week we are sharing the last video, offering a free book, and announcing keynote speakers for the 19th Annual National SAM Conference.

John Antonetti kicks off the third day of each conference with a musical summary of the first two days and a peek at the third.  Need a lift today?  Click on the screen below to watch this 12-minute HD video.

Would you like more information about John Antonetti?  Musical and comedic talent compliment his vast knowledge of lesson design and instructional practice.  

• His website is: https://colleaguesoncall.com/ 

• Phone and email: (877) 411-6622 info@colleaguesoncall.com

All conference videos, 2015 to 2025, are available at this link:  https://www.samprocess.com/conference-and-workshop-materials  You are welcome to use these videos, all or in part, in PD sessions with staff and others in your school and district.

Every attendee received Kim Marshall’s book, Rethinking Teacher Supervision and Evaluation: How to Shift the Conversation to Coaching, Continuous Improvement, and Student Learning, 3rd Edition. If you are a member of a SAM team, and were unable to attend, you can receive a copy, too.  Chick here to complete the request form: https://bit.ly/3R1i4JT

We are happy to announce four keynote speakers for the 19th Annual National SAM Conference, Marriott Harbor Beach, Fort Lauderdale, January 15-18, 2026.

• Will Parker, Principals Matter: Living your Best Life as an Educator

• Will Bowen, You Can’t Complain Your Way to Success

• Tracie Swilley, Principals set the Vibe and Energy Every Day

• John Antonetti, Personal Response: What Engages Today’s Learners

  
  

Note: It is budget time in most schools and districts.  Be sure to budget for your SAM services for the 2025-26 school year.  You can request an invoice now by using this link:  https://bit.ly/40GtA33

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Leading Successfully When Viewpoints Differ: A Set of 20-Minute Tools   https://bit.ly/NSIP_Toolkit   You are welcome to share the link with colleagues and friends.

SamTastic Weekly Tip: 3/3/25 - Use Time with Your Time Change Coach Wisely

This week’s tip: Use time with your Time Change Coach Wisely

SAMs and TimeTrack owners have time with their Time Change Coach each month. 

Time Change Coaches are highly skilled in the SAM process, reflective practice and the use of time data. They can provide training, when requested, help identify goals and next steps. Coaches are careful not to tell you what to do, other than the four SAM process non-negotiables. Instead, they ask questions, share resources and offer support.

Consider how to spend time with your Coach wisely.

• Stick with the scheduled time—reschedule only when necessary

• Read and respond to the emails from your coach

• Send questions to your coach

• Read through the rubric for SAM teams below ~ What are your next steps?  What can your coach do to help?

o   SAM Team Performance Rubric 1.0

o   Optional SAM Team Performance Rubric 2.0

o   Additional TimeTrack Performance Rubric 1.0

o   Additional TimeTrack Performance Rubric 2.0

We have two more keynotes to share from the 18th Annual National SAM Conference. 

Ken Williams was riveting and passionate in making the case that educators can make the difference for children…but only if they avoid using demographics as an excuse for not making a difference. 

Kara Swisher was entertaining, eclectic and equally forceful that tech moguls must be held responsible for the platforms, and AI they create.  

You can watch both keynotes, edited for school use, in HD video, below.

Click anywhere on the picture, below, to start.   

All conference videos, 2015 to 2025, are available at this link:  https://www.samprocess.com/conference-and-workshop-materials  You are welcome to use these videos, all or in part, in PD sessions with staff and others in your school and district.

Every attendee received a copy of Burn Book, by Kara Swisher.  If you are a member of a SAM team, and were unable to attend, you can receive a copy of her book, too.  Click here to complete the form after viewing:  https://bit.ly/41tT0Aq

Ken Williams’ new book will be published later this year.

Would you like more information about Ken Williams?  His website is: https://unfoldthesoul.com/  His email address is: ken@unfoldthesoul.com

Journalist and media personality Kara Swisher hosts a weekly podcast:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-with-kara-swisher/id1643307527

Note: It is budget time in most schools and districts.  Be sure to budget for your SAM services for the 2025-26 school year.  You can request an invoice now by using this link:  https://bit.ly/40GtA33

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• Leading Successfully When Viewpoints Differ: A Set of 20-Minute Tools   https://bit.ly/NSIP_Toolkit   You are welcome to share the link with colleagues and friends.

• Jenn David Lang, the Main Idea, is offering a free, online workshop:  Don’t Lose Them!  Strategies to Retain and Re-energize Your Teachers. (March 5, 4:00 PM, Eastern) Here’s the registration link: https://forms.gle/FPswewsb5xzktd1SA