Building Community During COVID-19

Recently our colleagues at The New Teacher Project shared this report – Rising Together.  The report looked at how 4 districts are building community during the pandemic.  Community comes up a lot for families and caregivers, as well as with staff. I know personally as a parent I recently shared a desire for my kids to have more opportunities to build community.  And their school did! 

We know building communities in cities, districts, and schools are more important than ever right now.  Here are some ideas we’ve heard from parents or seen school partners take on:

• Continuing online clubs: Chess clubs, science clubs, even a running club are all things we’ve seen schools take on.  We loved this one example that a parents shared after her daughter joined an online club.  “My daughter joined a couple club meetings, and afterward a bunch of students began a group chat to meet each other and chat about similar interests. I saw a huge jump in her energy levels as she was able to socialize with new peers.”
• Special lunch meetings:  We know teachers and staff want their time to get off of Zoom.  At the same time, lunches are powerful opportunities for students.  One parent shared “Shout out to Ms. G for hosting these. I heard my daughter laughing out loud for the first time in a long time.  And when we asked our son if he was ready for his day he said, “I have something to look forward to – the lunch at 11:30.”
• Outdoor Gatherings: One of our Possip partners has a teacher who hosts a running club outside at a very large field during the weekends.  They are able to distance and mask.
• Community meetings:  Some Possip partners have continued community convenings – even if they are on Zoom or Google Meets or Team.  They have a weekly 10 minute celebration as a community.
• Special events where students are heard:  One of our partners, KIPP Sunnyside, hosted a student-led series called QuaranTeen (KIPP Sunnyside High School: Life as a QuaranTeen).  We highly recommend you learn from the wisdom of these teenagers.

These are just a few ideas for building community during the pandemic.  We know there are thousands of unique and special things happening across classrooms, communities, and schools.

If you’re looking for some ideas or brainstorming, reach out!  I’d love to chat.  shani@possip.com.  

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ESSER II Funding

While states and districts are still learning more about ESSER II, many schools and districts are looking for tips to maximizing their funding. Find out ways to do that here! 

Quick Description: 

According to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, on December 27, 2020 Congress approved “$54.3 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER II Fund)” to be awarded to states in the same proportion as Title I fund distributions. You can read more here.

What does this mean for schools and districts?

Schools and districts will soon receive A LOT of money.  Leaders will have competing commitments for how to best use these funds.  And with schools and districts wrestling with sometimes decreasing enrollment, high rates of teacher turnover, and more significant needs than ever, even a lot of money can feel insufficient. 

So what are some tips on how to spend this money? 

With needs so vast and since ESSER II is a one-time drop of money, leaders will want to maximize impact with their investments. (Here are some tips for maximizing budgetary impact from our colleague Christine Fisher, who led Forecasting and Budgeting for the Tide Brand at Proctor & Gamble.)  

With ESSER II, the name of the game is LEVERAGE!

The highest leverage way to use the money is on items that will allow your district to grow enrollment, and to engage families, students and teachers in systems that will have impacts beyond the immediate future. 

Here are our top recommendations on how to spend the money.

1 -Family Engagement: Many districts have lost, or lost track of, unprecedented numbers of students and families during this time.  Districts and schools simply cannot exist in the future without students and families within them.  That’s why we recommend using ESSER funds for a platform, like Possip, that allows you to easily hear from families, respond to their needs, solicit their praise and ideas, and simplify your communication with them.

2 – Staff Engagement:  Similarly, teacher and staff turnover has reached unprecedented rates this year.  Schools cannot run without teachers – and great teachers at that.  Many teachers have left during this time citing burnout, lack of respect, and not having their voices heard.  Again, having a system like Possip where administrators and decision-makers can easily hear from teachers and staff is critical.

3 – Academic Supports and Interventions: School partners are looking to fill significant gaps.  Research shows students are likely to have lost up to 9 months of Math learning loss.  There are a diversity of ways schools and districts are looking to close these gaps:

• Extended school year for summer learning
• Additional tutoring or reading interventions
• Online academic supports and intervention tools
• Additional technology supports (hardware or software)
• Strong curriculum and implementation supports

While it may be surprising that we put Family and Staff Engagement before this – the reality is without the engagement and support of families and staff, academic supports and interventions will not reach their maximum potential. Possip has helped many schools identify and solve existing technology needs, and get valuable insight about learning supports and interventions.

We recommend using ESSER II funds strategically.  We believe platforms like Possip – or other engagement tools – can be an important first step.

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Possip Partner Spotlight: Report Reading Team Tips from an Executive Director

Dr. Celia Conley is an incredible Executive Director (ED) in the Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) district. In her role as an ED, she supports a cluster of middle schools and their principals. As a former MNPS principal herself, Dr. Conley used parent feedback from Possip’s Pulse Check Reports to strengthen her school, however, she didn’t accomplish this alone. She strategically built a report reading team–a team of school administrators and staff who routinely met to discuss parent praise, feedback, and action steps to close the feedback loop.

She says “having [a report reading] team allows you to ensure timely follow-up with families, and develop capacity for the leaders in your building [since they] assist [with report reading].” As the leader of a larger school, she decided to include her administrative team and Community Achieves (CA) manager on her report reading team because they “all worked with parents frequently.”

Now Dr. Conley is supporting other principals as an ED, and guiding them in their use of Possip. She sent her principals the following tips on communicating parent insights with staff and building a report reading team. She gave us permission to share her helpful tips with you too:

1. Share celebrations with the staff.

We all need a pick-me-up every now and then. I would often share school-wide celebrations in my Sunday emails, in my faculty meeting slide deck, etc. For individual teachers, I would immediately cut and paste and send it to them. It was always “right on time” for them (and me). (Team Possip Tip: Now, you can select the “email” button when viewing your report from the Possip site, and an email will automatically populate so you can easily share the praise).

2. Address comments quickly.

Follow-up with parents that expressed concerns, and thank parents that gave you praise.

3. Build capacity through a report reading team!

You can add additional users to Possip so they can have access to the reports. My APs, Deans, and Community Achieves (CA) manager all received the report directly from Possip. Just email jasmine@possip.com and she can add them. This way you are not the only one to review it, and the team can help divvy up the load.

4. Assign roles on your report reading team.

Our general system was that I would take the praise and any heavy issues, the dean would take the bullying comments, and the APs would take any student or teacher issues for their grade levels. The CA would handle food and technology needs.  We would forward ones that were in Spanish to our translator for follow-up.

If you’re a district leader or executive director who wants to support your principals like Dr. Conley, she recommends that a good starting point is to “Model sharing the praise with your principals by cutting snippets [from the report].”  

Let us know if you want to connect with her to learn more! Read additional Possip Partner spotlights here.

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Partner Connect 2021 Recap

Yesterday was Possip’s first retreat for our customers – PARTNER CONNECT 2021: Empowering Diversity and Equitable Decision Making. 

We’ve been dreaming about this retreat for a long time. Dreaming about a world where our partners share wisdom and problem solve side-by-side. Dreaming of a world where you – educators and district administrators – have a diverse and broad network of peers you lean on and learn from any time you need. 

This first retreat was just the beginning! So many people took time for development and considered the ways they can lead with wisdom and equity.  The retreat was full of incredible insights, and today the Experience and Support team is sharing their favorite takeaways! 

You are stressed because you care. 

Dr. Modupe Akinola, Associate Professor of Management at Columbia Business School, taught us that when we deny stress, we deny something we care about. Instead, acknowledging your stress lets you think more clearly and become proactive with it. Try this exercise next time you are stressed: Ask, “Why do I care?” Keep asking “Why do I care?” until you get to the root of your care and concern. You may feel stressed out about a parent conference, and find that the root of why you care is because you want to help a student with their self-esteem.  Dr. Akinola’s wisdom taught us that the information you focus on can determine your response to stress. Next time you, your staff or students are stressed, focus on why and remember – we are stressed because we care. 

Three Steps to Managing Stress: List → Categorize → Prioritize. 

Dr. Akinola created a workbook you can use on Rethinking Stress. Download it here. Her process starts like this: take a few minutes to list your major responsibilities in the coming month. Now, categorize these responsibilities using the chart below. As you do, consider the following questions: Which activities are the highest impact, ‘Quadrant II’ tasks for you? What concrete steps can you take to realign your priorities around these activities? Next time you are facing too many decisions and priorities, consider what is important and urgent. 

Respond to stress and negative feedback by listening.

Possip sees so much praise from parents and staff, but we know that partners also need the skills to interpret and respond to negative feedback. We asked Dave Kaval, President of the Oakland A’s, his strategy for handling hard feedback. He reminded us that listening disarms folks, saying, “Really listen… not just wait to talk and find a solution.” When he’s faced tough feedback in town halls or other venues, he takes this approach: “I just told people the truth. It made people more understanding.” We know that our partners are constantly triaging needs and making decisions. Next time you face negative feedback or an unsolvable dilemma, remember that it’s okay to not have the answer. The tone with which you listen and communicate is most important in building bridges and strengthening relationships.

Listen big. 

Dave Kaval has a big, booming voice, and he also listens big. He said, “If you are just listening through one mode, you have a blind spot.” Dave has been intentional in integrating community voices into his ballpark building project. He found ways to create multiple methods of listening, starting with putting community members on his staff so they could advocate for their city and the people in it. Pre-pandemic, Dave strategically hosted town halls and block parties in different neighborhoods to hear diverse voices and lean into topics most relevant to those communities. He’s used polling, social channels, and more. This wisdom reminds our partners that Possip is a great way to hear from families, but it should not be the only way. What’s important is that you give people every opportunity, and many opportunities to share… and that you listen big. 

Visualize your contributions. 

When you are stressed, close your eyes and think of the faces of those you have helped. Naya Powell gave us the gift of a mindful leadership session. She showed us how mindful leaders express gratitude for life, others, and themselves. At Possip, we believe that praise is powerful. We love prompting families and teams to share their praise with you because you are praiseworthy. Take some time to think about how far you’ve come, and consider the ways that you have adapted, evolved, and led bravely through this time.

We will keep dreaming of building a community with you, and the ways people can find inspiration and leadership through the power of shared voices. When we close our eyes, that’s what we see. 

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Consultancy Protocol

My name is Amanda Richards and I work at Possip to lead the Reporting team and help facilitate professional development. I am a former school principal and teacher. I’m here to share a resource that I consistently used to involve community members at my school. 

A few years ago, I was able to attend one of Elena Aguilar’s conferences on her book “The Art of Coaching Teams”

Her focus is to build strong school teams and use the power of people to make collaborative decisions. 

The resource that you’ll go through today is based on Elena Aguilar’s Consultancy Protocol. While I was a principal, I mostly used this with my grade level teacher leaders and our school leadership team. It provides a structured agenda to problem-solve and make decisions with trusted community or team members. 

As a result of using this protocol, I found that it helped my teachers, school leaders, and myself. When we are able to hear more voices and perspectives it leads to more equitable decision-making for everyone.

I hope you find this group work time helpful and you’re able to use this tangible tool. 

Consultancy Protocol Steps

While you’re walking through these steps, make sure to check out this resource you can use as well!

1. Firstly, a presenter prepares a dilemma or decision for the consultancy meeting.
2. The first part of the meeting, the Presenter shares the dilemma or decision verbally or through artifacts like data, emails, or other information. The Presenter can ask for feedback or input on one key question or decision.
3. Group asks the presenter clarifying questions that require yes–no or short answers only so everyone can get clarity on the decision or dilemma efficiently.
4. The group silently reflects on the presenter’s dilemma or decision and prepares for discussion.
5. Next, there’s a Group Fishbowl Discussion where the Presenter doesn’t participate and just take notes. In the discussion, group members can ask probing questions, share insights they gained, and voice any other ideas or reflections they came up with.
6. The presenter takes One Minute of Silence to reflect and share their takeaway with the group.
7. Lastly, the Presenter shares any reactions, insights, or next steps they want to take based on the community input during the consultancy. 

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Possip Partner Spotlight: Inglewood Elementary

This week our Partner Spotlight is on Inglewood Elementary in Nashville, TN. Their dynamic principal, Ashley Croft, uses parent praise from Pulse Checks to celebrate her team. Inglewood Elementary’s staff spotlights appear in their “Tuesday Newsday” parent newsletter and on social media. Read our Q&A with Principal Croft to learn more about staff celebrations. Let …

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