SamTastic Weekly Tip: 3/18/24 - TimeTrack is more than a calendar. It is a daily PD process.

A principal who completed SAM Process training last month made an interesting observation.  She pointed out that TimeTrack is more than a calendar. It is a daily PD process.

A calendar is simply a schedule, a list of things to do during the day.  It does not require reflection or intentionality.  It doesn’t provide data on the time spent to complete projects, meet goals and work to improve teacher practice.  It doesn’t show the number of interactions with each teacher, the frequency of contact or the sequence of effort.  It doesn’t provide a narrative record of the leader’s work.

TimeTrack® does all these things.  It is often called the school leader’s lesson plan.  TimeTrack transforms a calendar into an action plan to improve teacher practice with mathematical and narrative records to use in the SAM Daily Meeting to reflect, determine next steps and hold yourself accountable.   

Combining the use of TimeTrack and the SAM Daily Meeting with First Responders, and support from your SAM and Time Change Coach, is why the SAM process works.  The fact you commit to intentionality, reflection, and to be your better self.  This is why you are in the GREEN today. 

Congratulations!

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.

SamTastic Weekly Tip: 3/11/24 - Hello from New York

Hello from New York.  Today, I am doing in-person training for six new SAM teams in the financial district.  Fun!

Today’s SAMtastic Weekly Tip is also fun and includes three parts:  a delightful music parody, a request and a terrific HD video PD session you may want to use soon.

Parody?  A truly amazing music video, Samilton, about the work you do by the one and only John Antonetti.  I still can’t quit smiling. 

Here’s the link for SAMilton:  https://bit.ly/samilton24

The requests?   If you didn’t just click the link to see/hear the Hamilton parody, above, please do?   Would you then re-post the link on social media accounts?   This is a great way to share the SAM process with others.

The PD session?  Lucas Held, formerly communications director for the Wallace Foundation, presented at the annual national conference in January on leading in a polarized environment.  His thought-provoking presentation gives context to the divisive and, sometimes hostile, situations leaders in schools deal with daily.  Here’s a link for his 45 minutes conference session in HD:  https://bit.ly/3IB6dOs

Wouldn’t it be great to have a toolkit for leading in a polarized environment where most everything is political?   We are working with CLC, Change Leadership Collaborative, to develop a toolkit of tips and tools school leaders can use to better navigate our highly polarized environment.   If you are interested in participating in a focus group with the developers, please let me know via email: Mark@SamsConnect.com  

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.

SamTastic Weekly Tip: 3/5/24 - The SAM process is all about intentionality.

The SAM process is all about intentionality.  Principals track their time improving teacher practice and use their data to determine next steps.

Many leaders use TimeTrack, and the SAM process, with their school and district improvement plans.  This provides reflection, self-accountability and focus that leads to success.  Two TimeTrack users, Mariane Dixon, Buffalo School District, Director, Leadership Development, and Dawn DiNatale, Time Change Coach, presented at the 17th Annual National SAM Conference on how to connect school/district improvement plans with the SAM Process.  You can view their session in HD video, and access other sessions and materials shared at the conference, at this link:  https://bit.ly/3SURFhB 

Tracking time working with professional learning communities is something SAM teams do every day.  The research suggests PLCs can be effective in improving teaching and learning…but this requires a lot of leader thought, reflection and intentionality.  A research article, Keeping Track of the Development of Professional Learning Communities in Schools, includes a chart I thought might be helpful for SAM teams when considering next steps in work with PLCs.

Find the next TimeTrack event you have with a school PLC.  Can you identify next steps for the leader using the chart, above?   Here’s a link to the article:  https://bit.ly/49BxRqI

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.