This morning, I sat in one of the most inspiring spaces in our District Office.  What for many years had been a neglected storage area for musical instruments, had been transformed into a professional learning space whose purpose was now to remind us all that creativity and attention to design are essential professional competencies.  The arts are not simple elective courses or curricular add-ons, but rather serve as fundamental elements of a rigorous core academic program.  Even the storage function of the space had been redesigned to enhance inventory management and provide quicker student and teacher access to instruments and arts materials.

As I sat in the newly designed center for the arts and athletics, I was surrounded by members of our SAUSD community – students, parents, community partners, teachers, & support staff – all coming together to reflect on our progress towards the implementation of our district strategic arts plan – a plan approved and championed by a Board of Education that has emphasized access to the arts for all students.  The collective desire to deepen the work was palpable.

It felt like a celebratory moment.  Five years ago, our Board adopted its first ever strategic arts plan.  There was plenty to reflect on as evidence of success.  From alignment of coursework to new arts standards, to construction of state-of-the-art creative spaces at multiple sites around the district, to the launching of the SanArts conservatory, to the expansion of elementary arts programming, there was much to celebrate.

But, this group clearly wanted to go deeper.  It is a guiding coalition that sees equity of access to the arts as its north star.  And so, the work begins anew to take stock of where we’ve been, celebrate where we’ve grown, and double our resolve to integrate and deepen an arts-enriched and arts-informed learning experience for all of our students.  Over the next three months this VAPA team, under the direction of our coordinator of VAPA, Robyn McNair, will arrange focus groups and listening sessions in order to ensure that the strategic arts plan for the next five years is as inclusive and transformative as the previous one has been.   

I sometimes am guilty of rambling about how the struggles of education have a lot more to do with poor leaders than they do with poor teachers.  We sometimes scapegoat teachers for the struggles of an education system designed as much to keep costs low as it is to help young people learn.  While it may be true that improvements to the system can at times be undermined by teachers who care more about autonomy than high quality professional practice, I tend to believe that administrators and policymakers hold primary responsibility for the struggles of public education in our country. 

In defense of school administrators, leading and managing a school is very difficult work.  I learned that for myself as the principal of an urban high school.  Yet difficult as it may have been, my time as principal convinced me that our schools can be transformed by increased public investment and strong leadership. 

Perhaps the best way to illustrate my point is to share one of my first challenges as a new principal.  It was not long into my first year as principal that I recognized a small handful of classrooms where the teacher was clearly struggling to be successful.  I began doing what any serious first year principal might do: I told the teachers that their performance needed to improve dramatically or they would be at risk for losing their job.  While I am certain these teachers were angry and perhaps confused by my ultimatum, much to their credit, their immediate response was to ask a simple yet genuine question – “what can I do to get better?” 

That question rang in my ears.  It became clear that while it might be easy for me to diagnose a struggling classroom, articulating a vision for what I expected to see was much more complicated, to say nothing of the challenge of developing systems that would build the capacity of my teachers to meet my expectations.  As an organization we had some tools for teacher evaluation, but they lacked a clear instructional vision, and I was just getting familiar with them.  I could see no short-term solution, and so I tried to provide sufficient observation and coaching for my struggling teachers to have enough evidence to feel justified when it came time to make final staffing decisions.  Some might argue that if students are struggling to learn in a classroom, that is all the justification you need.  In my mind such an approach seems more of an admission that leadership does not have the skills to develop and support novice teachers. 

That experience left me severely disappointed – both with myself and the education system that claims to prepare and develop teachers.  I decided that at the very least, teachers in my school should know what I expect from them, and there should be a system for professional development capable of building their capacity to be successful at meeting those expectations.  As a result, we developed a new teacher development guide to make our shared vision for teaching and learning as clear and explicit as possible.   Of course a training manual can never be completely comprehensive nor could it contain all of the practices of strong teachers.  It could, at least, serve as a point of departure – an outline of the basic skills and standards of professional practice for our school. 

Schools have what I consider to be a moral and professional responsibility to build the capacity of their teachers to impact student learning in powerful ways.  Indeed, if we are to hold teachers accountable for what students learn in a teacher’s classroom, then we as school leaders should be held accountable for what teachers learn in our schools. 

It’s been just over a month since our new superintendent Jerry Almendarez took the helm in Santa Ana Unified.  One of the clear themes that has already emerged in his approach to leadership is constantly asking people what they are doing to bolster their professional skills and boost their capacity.  You shouldn’t be surprised if he starts a conversation by asking you what you are currently reading.  Another way that conversation unfolds is to ask about what podcasts you are listening to.  He’s bordering obsessive about employing adults who love learning.

I have something of an addictive relationship with podcasts.  I love a long drive or a long run while listening to an interesting podcast, including and perhaps especially in disciplines and areas of interest that lie outside of education.  I’m sure my poor wife is tired of hearing me reference the latest podcast I am listening to.  Perhaps it’s a vice.

Even so, you can imagine how I lit up when asked directly about which podcast I’m currently listening to.  How can I choose just one?   Here are a few that I particularly love at the moment:

Harvard EdCast

I’m listing the Harvard EdCast first, not because it’s #1 on my list or even my favorite, but in terms of salient issues pressing in education, it’s essential.  One of the most incredible parts of a Harvard education is how thought-leaders around the country and the world somehow seem drawn there.  The level of access is unrivaled.  As a student, in just a year, I engaged in conversations with current and past U.S. Secretaries of Education, presidents of Universities, superintendents in some of the largest urban districts in the country, heads of major philanthropic organizations, etc.  The Harvard EdCast is designed to make these conversations and interactions accessible to a wider audience, and provides powerful insight into what is happening in education.

The Daily

There are a lot of ways to get the news.  My favorite is the New York Times’ “The Daily.”  Instead of your typical news rundown, The Daily goes deep for nearly 30 minutes on a single topic, integrating interviews, audio reporting, and historical background to provide a depth of context and insight that is hard to find elsewhere.  Basically, the NYTimes gets to tell you the most important story of the day, and do so in a way that leaves you feeling like something of a mini-expert on the topic.

The Outside Podcast

I love being outdoors, and am fascinated by the stories of athletes and explorers that find themselves at the center of the Outside Podcast.  To be honest, I never can really tell what the focus on the podcast is going to be.  Sometimes they tell stories about near-death experiences in the wild.  Other episodes are dedicated to the science of exercise.  The topics range from the politics of the US Interior department to a forensic breakdown of a plane crash in the Andes.  Perhaps that’s why I love it.  It introduces me to people, places, and professions that often lie far outside my day to day realities and experiences.  For me, it’s escapism at its best and keep me dreaming about future adventures.

MacPowerUsers

I love technology, but don’t necessarily consider myself a true power user.  I don’t code (yet).  This is a show that is unapologetically focused on Apple products.  Apple happens to be ubiquitous in my life, as it is in the lives of lots of people.  MacPowerUsers is my strategy to learn about the tools that are already in my pocket and backpack.  Thanks to this podcast, I’ve set up a local server in my house, set up automated back-ups, installed media servers and had the confidence to address IT challenges that I simply could not have tackled previously.  Even the software I use for writing my blog posts (Scrivener) came after listening to an episode of MPU.  Of course there are some episodes that are a little beyond my skill set or experience, but I think that’s the point.

Rebel Force Radio

Don’t know how two guys can talk about Star Wars every week for 14 years.  A quick listen to Rebel Force Radio will give you an idea.