SamTastic Weekly Tip: 10/14/24 - What you do tells people what you value.

Happy Monday! 

What you do tells people what you value.

Principals have tremendous impact on others, and, like most things, actions speak louder than words.

Make a point to schedule time each morning talking with students about their schoolwork.  Some principals elect to do this as kids are entering the building. These short conversations can be a powerful tool in communicating the importance you see in their schoolwork. It gives insight on what is happening in the classroom and ideas on how to help the teacher improve.

Some SAM principals enter a room before the bell and sit with a student and have the same conversation. These principals know the power of their presence and may elect to stay in the classroom as the teacher gets things started. This is a favorite kind of “seeing instruction” for many SAM leaders as they get to work with a student, or group, while watching the teacher work.

Some SAM principals carry tickets when they do morning classroom visits.  They look for students exhibiting good learning behavior.  The tickets say: “My table, lunch, today.”  Or “Please stop and see me as you are leaving today.”  What happens?  The principal praises the student for their learning behavior.  Principals who plan these kinds of interactions with students report teachers love it.  Why?  They know when the principal enters a room the focus is not only on teaching behavior…it is also on student learning behavior.  They also like it because the principal is modeling what educators value…not just talking about it.

Effective principals look for teachable moments with teachers and students… A principal who stops and helps a teacher complete a bulletin board, cut out letters, grade a set of papers or prepare materials, teaches a lesson that won’t soon be forgotten: the leader values, respects and appreciates the work of teachers.

What you do, regardless of your title, speaks volumes. Make sure what you do moves your staff in the direction you seek. 

Great SAMs help their principals schedule these teachable moments in every SAM Daily Meeting.  It is not too late to schedule one this week on your TimeTrack. 

Reminder: The deadline to submit conference flight information is December 1.  Buying airline ticket now makes sense—you will get a much better price than waiting until the deadline.  Please make your reservation today and send flight information to: Travel@SamsConnect.com

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• Online SAM training this week:  Denver, Colorado, Atlanta, Georgia, Rochester, New York

• In-person SAM Training next week:  New York City

In case you missed it, NSIP Director Mark Shellinger was the guest September 18 on William Parker’s podcast, Principal Matters.  Here’s a link:

https://williamdparker.com/2024/pmp414-managing-your-priorities-with-mark-shellinger/

SamTastic Weekly Tip: 10/7/24 - Every SAM principal has dealt with a student having a meltdown.

Happy Monday!

Every SAM principal has dealt with a student having a meltdown. The student is too tired, too stressed and just too out of it to be their better self. This can happen to adults, too. In most cases, it doesn’t reach the level of a tantrum…but the effect on others is the same.

Many SAM principals know this can happen to them, too, if they don’t take preventative action. Scheduling 15 minutes of personal time in the middle of the day to get centered, focused and calm can make a world of difference in how the rest of the day turns out. Some principals make a point to do the same thing before going home so they don’t meltdown when engaging their significant other and family.

A recent article in the New York Times, End of Day Meltdowns Aren’t Just of Kids, provides three things you might do to be your best self at work and after. Thanks to Time Change Coach Dave Sechler, you’ll find the article at the end of today’s SamTastic Weekly Tip. Read the article and see how many of the three suggestions you’ve already built into your TimeTrack.

I enjoyed being a guest on author William Parker’s podcast, Principal Matters earlier this month.  Here’s a link:

https://williamdparker.com/2024/pmp414-managing-your-priorities-with-mark-shellinger/

William is very impressive and has a wealth of ideas for school leaders.  He will do an all-day pre-conference workshop at the 18th Annual National SAM Conference in January.  He will also do two breakout sessions.

A message from NSIP Board President Bert Hendee:  “Your NSIP Board of Directors met online Monday, September 30, 2024.  We spent our time reviewing our own self-evaluation in order to grow in our performance as a board.  In addition, we are continuously working to ensure our goals support the goals of NSIP.  We can’t wait to see many of you at the National Conference in January in Miami!”

Remember:  The deadline to submit conference flight information is December 1.  Please send to: Travel@SamsConnect.com

• Online SAM training this week:  Buffalo, NY, Rochester, NY, Denver, CO, Baltimore, MD

• In-person SAM Training this week:  Chicago, IL

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End-of-day meltdowns are not just for kids

By Jancee Dunn

It’s been a while since I really fell to pieces at the end of a long day. But I know the feeling, and I instantly recognized it when a colleague with young children told me about a concept called “after-school restraint collapse.”

The term, coined by the parenting expert Andrea Loewen Nair, describes the way kids can hold in their feelings all day at school and then release them by melting down at home.

After-school restraint collapse isn’t a formal diagnosis, but it’s a “common phenomenon,” said Rosanna Breaux, an assistant professor of psychology at Virginia Tech.

Could it be that adults do this, too?

Absolutely, said Kathryn Humphreys, an associate professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt University — though we’re more likely to be irritable or tense than to throw an all-out tantrum. That said, we might pick a fight with another member of our household, she added.

If you regularly melt down after a long day, experts share ways to head off the collapse.

Recognize when you’re white-knuckling it all day.

Do you go from one task to another without pausing? To avoid an implosion, make a point of taking “microbreaks,” or brief pauses where you change location, even just to get a drink of water, during the day, Dr. Breaux said.

A review of studies published in 2022 found that short breaks reduced mental fatigue and promoted well-being among workers. Taking microbreaks is good for your physical well-being too, and can help you to avoid dead butt syndrome.

Or, when you find stress ramping up, find a (relatively) quiet corner in your workplace or home for an oasis moment — a few calm minutes of daytime rest that can make you feel less depleted.

Establish an end-of-day routine.

When I leave my office, I work on the train until I arrive at my station, and then step directly into the maelstrom of my house — cooking, checking homework, doing random laundry that someone absolutely needs ready for the following day.

Instead, I should be building in a few minutes of transition time, Jennifer Blossom, an assistant professor of clinical psychology at the University of Maine, told me. This signals to your body and brain that you’re winding down and making the shift from work to home, she said.

She told me to close my laptop for the last few minutes of my commute, and do something enjoyable, like listening to a podcast or an audiobook.

When you arrive home, or sign off from your home office, check in with yourself, Dr. Humphreys said. Are you hungry? Talked out? Stiff from sitting?

If you notice a pattern, establish a brief routine that feels restorative to you, Dr. Breaux said. “For some people that is taking a quick shower,” she added. “For others it’s taking the dog for a walk.”

I’ve stopped rushing directly into something “productive.” Instead, my new post-work regimen includes an immediate handful of hot honey nut mix, a short walk and the BBC podcast “The Food Chain.” If I have a little more energy, I’ll see if I can identify birdsong on my walk with the Merlin Bird ID app from Cornell Lab.

Be clear about what you need (like quiet time).

After talking to the experts, I realized that I needed quiet time as I changed gears. Still, I was not giving my teen the same consideration on the days I picked her up. Instead, I peppered her with questions like: “How was school?”

“Questions place demands on us,” Dr. Blossom said. “You have to organize your thinking, you have to respond to the question.” Instead, say something neutral and supportive, such as “I’m so glad to see you,” she suggested.

My husband works from home, so last week I asked him if he could stop firing questions at me when I walked through the door. He smirked a little but said he would.

The other night, he told me he was “glad to see me” as I reached for my snack and headed out for a walk. It was a little stiff, but I appreciated the effort. Meltdown averted.

SamTastic Weekly Tip: 9/30/24 - How much time did you spend in September with your FOCUS teachers?

How much time did you spend in September with your FOCUS teachers?

It is the last day of September.  Your TimeTrack shows you are spending a lot of time working with teachers to improve their practice…far more than the national average for school leaders.  Congratulations.

You selected “Focus” teachers when you started this year.  Now is a great time to stop and take a look. 

You’ll see a quick link to information about the time you’ve spent with Focus teachers on the bottom left of your TimeTrack.  Look at the word MORE circled in RED, below. If you click it, you get the choice of opening Events to Review, Admin Actions and Focus Individuals.  Clicking Focus shows the third view, links to the data for each focus teacher.

Clicking any name gives you a wealth of data showing instructional time spent with the focus teacher, interactions and frequency.

Using this information to determine your next steps is what the SAM process is all about.

So, what do you think?  Do you see a connection with the time you’ve spent with each of your Focus teachers and an improvement in their practice?  If so, great.  It might be time to schedule a celebratory feedback session.  It might be time to select a new Focus teacher.  If not, what are you going to try next?

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• Online SAM training this week:  Benton, MO, Bronx, NY, Rochester, NY, Springfield, IL, Atlanta, GA

• In-person SAM Training next week:  Chicago, IL

2024 SAM Team Performance Report:   https://bit.ly/3xNzMe8 

Executive Summary - https://bit.ly/4fh2V2k

Music Video: I Am a SAM  https://bit.ly/48OCjCm

Mission: The National SAM Innovation Project provides a comprehensive process and set of tools designed to develop effective instructional leaders resulting in greater student success.

Vision: The National SAM Innovation Project will provide SAM services in every state resulting in greater teacher and learner success.