Networking

Legislators – at all levels – are notorious for mandates that are unfunded and ill-defined. While at a first blush, this can be frustrating, it is also liberating. We, at our district and site levels, have the opportunity to shape implementation of these mandates to meet the needs of our communities. And it is a lot of work. Just as we want our students to collaborate with their peers to meet real world challenges, so should we.

This week was all about networking: Q-Comp Leadership Network, Teacher Development and Evaluation (TDE) Community of Practice, and the District 287 Teaching and Learning Network. Internally we networked this week as well when we brought together our Innovation Coaches from each site, our parent representatives, and representatives from the Minnetonka Foundation. In all of these instances I walked out with greater clarity around my next steps, and possibilities for improving processes.

Student learning goals are one component of teachers’ evaluation in the recently enacted teacher evaluation law. At the Q-Comp Leadership Network, my colleague from Edina shared the rubric that they are using to evaluate teachers’ student learning goals. Rather than focusing on just the results, they will take into consideration the implementation of the strategies being used to meet the goal as well as reflections on the implementation. By including both the implementation of and reflections on the learning, they are recognizing the complexity of student learning. Similarly, at the TDE Community of Practice, my colleague from Anoka Hennepin shared a rubric that they are using to evaluate student learning goals as well. They, too, recognize and value that goal setting has many facets. Principals will consider five components of the student learning goal: determining needs, creating goals, planning instructional strategies to meet the goal, monitoring student progress, and reflecting on the goal. These two rubrics will be great conversation starters when our TDE committee meets again in November.

It’s also been pretty awesome to watch the internal networking of our Innovation Coaches. After some initial brainstorming in person, the conversation around our innovation efforts has continued in their Schoology group. They’re having fun as they decide how to further the culture of innovation in Minnetonka.

Every meeting we attend is an opportunity for different experiences to collide. As our networks expand, so do our perspectives.  And our loads are a little lighter as a result.