SamTastic Weekly Tip - 6-27-22: Select the best teachers by adding a few new interview questions.

As June ends and July begins, most school and district leaders are spending a lot of time interviewing candidates for teaching positions.

Mike Rutherford, RLG, has been a frequent presenter at national and regional SAM conferences. Mike believes that responses in formal interviews are often poor predictors of future job performance. He drafted twelve questions that might better predict an applicant’s likely teaching success and efficacy. Click for the printable PDF and what might be useful.

https://bit.ly/39Sbu6G

Last November we shared that SAM Principal Elisa Brown received the Terrel H, Bell award for outstanding school leadership.

Recently a video was produced about her work at her school in Brooklyn:

https://bit.ly/3HRqbDI

SamTastic Weekly Tip - 6-20-22: Take the Tech Challenge

Today’s Tip: Take the Tech Challenge

A Google search for the benefits of taking a vacation from tech turns up 1.5 billion results. The research is clear:

There are 6 Benefits of Unplugging from Technology

• Reduces Stress and Anxiety. Unplugging from technology is like a reboot for your brain. ...

• Opportunity to Focus on Appreciation and Gratitude. ...

• Provides More Time for Simple Pleasures. ...

• Reduces Feelings of Loneliness. ...

• Connect with the Natural World. ...

• Allows You to Be Present.

So, take the challenge. When you leave school for a vacation this month or next, disengage from technology. Set your email and cell phone to provide an automated response so others know you are literally on vacation and won’t see messages until you return.

This can be rejuvenating and freeing. Give it a try? If so, you might start scheduling time each day for the 2022-23 school year where you take a tech break. SAM leaders who do so report being far more sensitive to others, better listeners, happier and able to better focus.

SamTastic Weekly Tip - 6/13/22: Consider Expanding TimeTrack Users

Today’s Tip: Consider Expanding TimeTrack Users

Many SAM teams elect to invite other leaders in their school to do TimeTrack each day. They schedule their work in advance and meet with a trusted colleague to consider next steps.

Some SAM teams go a step further. They conduct weekly school wide TimeTrack data meetings to see how each member of the team is progressing and how, in combination, they are spending their time to improve teaching and learning.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, in Macon, Georgia, conducts a school wide TimeTrack data meeting each week. The SAM, principal, assistant principal, instructional coach and counselor coordinate their work using merged TimeTrack data. Take a look:

SAMs on Location: The Impact of School Wide TimeTrack Data Meetings – https://bit.ly/3mr3zA7

It takes work to achieve what the Macon team has done. Each team member must use TimeTrack, schedule in advance and coordinate their work weekly with the other leaders in the school. NSIP provides additional TimeTracks at no cost and will provide training as long as the principal and SAM are doing the SAM Process with efficacy and are committed to helping their colleagues begin.

Talk with your Time Change Coach if you’d like to discuss.

Feel free to share the videos with colleagues, via social medial or other means.