SamTastic Weekly Tip: 4/20/2020 - Schedule Management Work, Too

This week’s tip: Schedule Management Work, Too.

With the new normal some SAM teams worried that they were doing too much management work. It is necessary to do management work in order to do the instructional work that will drive improved teaching and learning. In other words, manage the management to do more instructional work.

By actually scheduling you management work you have data that you can use to take control of what you do each day instead of allowing the interruptions and demands of the day to control you.

This month some SAM teams lowered their monthly instructional leadership goal to allow for the additional management time necessary to make things work. This is perfectly fine. These same SAM teams are now able to use their data to slowly increase their instructional focus. Also, perfectly fine.

School leaders have enormous responsibilities and overwhelming demands on their time. The SAM process is the key to being successful in normal times. With the new normal the SAM process is even more valuable to the success each leader desires: improved teaching and learning.

SamTastic Weekly Tip: 4/13/20 - Make the new normal easier by staying in the Green

This week’s tip: Make the new normal easier by staying in the Green.

Shawna and I wanted to reach out because we had a very similar experience as the SAM Principal mentioned in the weekly SAMtastic on April 6, 2020 and felt the need to share. On March 11, 2020 our district informed all staff and students that March 13, 2020 would be our last day of school for at least two weeks. That was the last day we used our SAMs calendar, which had been the driving force to ensure we were staying instructionally focused.

As we began to help our staff and parents navigate this “new normal”, it was clear a schedule was a necessity. If a schedule was a necessity for our staff and students, then it was a necessity for us as well. The purpose of the SAMs TImeTrack calendar is to track time spent with individuals and provides specifics about the work. We feel this is more important than ever because we are not having the face to face interactions that we are accustomed to having daily. We are using the SAMs TImeTrack calendar to track time spent providing information, supporting our teachers, celebrating and self-care for staff and communication with parents. The SAMs TimeTrack calendar is once again the driving force to support getting meaningful work accomplished.

In addition, the Annual SAMs Conference continues to be a blessing. Shawna and I have continued to move forward with our work around family engagement. We have even started Parent Universities, a series of virtual parents meetings, that we host every Tuesday and Thursday. Last night we were able to connect with Lavonna Roth and other administrators around the country. We had the opportunity to share what we are doing in the space of family engagement as well as receive tips from other administrators about successes they have had as education moves to a virtual platform. We hope to continue to connect with SAM administrators because everyone around the world is navigating distance learning. We are in this together!

We are making time for what is important and continuing to build school/ family relationships, which is all documented on our TimeTrack!

Thank you,

Stephanie Gobbo

SAM Assistant Principal

Allenwood Elementary School

SamTastic Weekly Tip: 4/6/20 - Get Unstuck

This week’s tip: Get Unstuck.

It’s funny. The busier we are, the more pressure we feel, the less certainty we have all tends to lower productivity and our sense of accomplishment.

This leads to a condition of being stuck. A feeling that no matter what you do it won’t make any difference. TimeTrack and the SAM Daily Meeting are designed to get you unstuck, moving forward with permission to feel good about your work because you can see what you accomplished on your dashboard and in the response from the people who matter to you professionally.

One SAM principal stopped using her TimeTrack when her school closed and they moved to remote instruction. She reported she felt adrift and kept saying she would start scheduling again when things calmed down. She was stuck. She got unstuck by holding a SAM Daily Meeting via Zoom with her SAM. It made all the difference.

Elizabeth Grace Saunders wrote about getting stuck in a New York Times article last week. She suggests that when you are feeling stuck you should start somewhere, anywhere:

One of the biggest reasons I see people stay stuck is that they lose confidence that they know where to start. So they spend a great deal of time thinking about what’s the most important thing to do but accomplish little to nothing of significance.

Unhelpful mind-set: “I need to know with absolute certainty that this is the top priority and if I move ahead on this part of this project, I won’t regret having prioritized it above anything else.”

Helpful mind-set: “I can’t always know for sure what should be the priority. However, I can make a reasonable decision to pursue something that I know is among my most important activities.”

Action: Pick a project (or some portion of one) you will focus on first.

Saunders is right. Starting somewhere, anywhere is the first step. It is why you schedule in advance as a SAM team. It gets you started and you feel a lot better.

To read Sauder’s April 1, 2020 article about getting unstuck in the New York Times click here: https://bit.ly/3aRWLnK

PS: Here’s how Lansing, Michigan Principal Steve Lonzo stays unstuck. Send us your examples of how you have made lemonade out of the lemons of the new normal and we will share with everyone next week.

On Friday, March 27th at 11 am, the staff of Willow Elementary School in Lansing, MI., conducted a school zoom meeting/check in. Prior to the Zoom, we have been communicating via group text. For the past two weeks, members of the Willow staff have joined in delivering food to our families that are homes and/or without transportation.

Since we have been out of school, members of my neighborhood association has prepared over 200 snack bags for us to deliver to our students. We have also gathered supplies from our school, that were donated, and shared with as many of our families as we could.

We posted a survey on our school’s Facebook page to get feedback on families well being and needs and we plan to check it and respond daily.