Advancing Principals' Vision with Innovation Field Trips

Advancing Principals' Vision of 21st Century Instruction with Innovation Field Trips
By John Clemente and Naomi Cooperman

This past week, the New York City Department of Education announced that it will advance its plan to provide more autonomy to principals. With this exciting change comes the potential downside of principal isolation. In the same way that focusing on student outcomes can sometimes narrow teachers' vision to what is possible in their classrooms, school leaders sharply focused on their own buildings can forget to let good ideas from the outside in. 

There is no doubt that exchanging ideas with peers can inform principals' decision-making. Learning what strategies and models are working and what innovations are on the horizon can be powerful aids in advancing a leader's vision and strategic planning.

School of One



Principals share ideas on the problem of practice at the School of One Innovation Field Trip.

To best serve schools taking part in Teaching Matters' Partnership for School Innovation, we have been investigating the best ways for our school leaders to share and further their thinking. Guided by the success of the Empowerment Support Organization and excellent advice from Nigel Pugh, Deputy CEO of the Empowerment Support Organization, and Lisa Nielsen, Manhattan Office of Educational Technology Manager, we decided to adopt a model for collaboration entitled Instructional Rounds in Education (City, Elmore, Fiarman and Teitel, 2009.)

The rounds process derives from "grand rounds" or "medical rounds" used in teaching hospitals to develop doctors' diagnostic and treatment practice (Not so different than what you've seen on "ER" or Grey's Anatomy.") The model is based on the idea that practitioners solve common problems and improve their practice by working together. Everyone participates, from the experts to the novices, and everyone learns.

The educational version of this process is called "instructional rounds." Teaching Matters developed its Innovation Field Trips by adopting rounds' four key components: 

  1. Stating the Problem of Practice -  the leader (in the host school) poses a challenge core to instruction that school is facing; this problem focuses the visit
  2. Observing Practice - visiting leaders gather data on the problem of practice (teaching and learning) in classrooms
  3. Observation Reflection - visiting leaders record observations and identify patterns of evidence
  4. Observation Debrief - observations are processed; next steps and solutions are discussed.

Using this framework, we bring leaders together around core instructional issues that can be addressed through technology innovation. For visitors, this is an opportunity to get up close and personal to educational technology-based practices and strategies that their colleagues are launching, and that have potential for their schools as well.  For leaders in the host schools, this is a chance to confer with colleagues who can offer their experience and perspectives on teaching and learning. For all, the chance to raise and think through important issues can be invaluable.

We recently took two highly successful field trips to innovative New York City programs. At the NYC iSchool, Principal, Alisa Berger introduced visiting leaders to the ways high schools students engage in independent and project-focused learning. At School of One (SO1) in IS 228 Brooklyn, Jonathan Skolnick, SO1's Director of Field Operations, shared the school's technology-based approach to personalized learning and corresponding challenges related to expanding this new approach to instruction to 228's entire math department. 

There is still time for leaders interested in hosting or participating in Teaching Matters' Innovation Field Trips to join us. Through the generous support of The New York Community Trust, field trips will be conducted through 2010.  To participate, contact Naomi Cooperman, ncooperman@teachingmatters.org or John Clemente, jclemente@teachingmatters.org.

Middle Schoolers Take Action on Civil Rights

Originally posted by Sonny Singh of the Sikh Coalition. Reposted with permission.

Middle Schoolers taking action on (Sikh) civil rights

Last Friday, I was invited by the organization Teaching Matters to participate as an “expert” community activist in their annual Civil Rights Student Summit in downtown Manhattan.  I was looking forward to the opportunity to work with such young students of diverse backgrounds on building effective campaigns for civil rights and social justice, but I had no idea how inspiring the experience would be.

The day began at the City Council Chambers at City Hall, where a few hundred students were welcomed by staff at Teaching Matters and a speech by Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who gave the Sikh Coalition a shout out for our organizing and advocacy work on bias-based bullying in NYC schools.

Then the students broke out into groups of a few dozen across the street at Pace University and made 5-7 minute presentations on a civil rights topic they had researched and developed a campaign about.  The “professional” activists in the room then had the opportunity to ask questions, give the students feedback on their campaigns, and share our on-the-ground experience.  With topics ranging from healthcare for all to women’s rights, the presentations were thoughtful and used many forms of media to build awareness campaigns.

What really blew me away was that one of the groups of five non-Sikh middle school students chose Sikh rights as their topic!  Using a great website they created, the students gave an in-depth presentation about the barriers to freedom and equality Sikhs in the U.S. face, from employment discrimination to hate crimes.  The front page of the site states:

"We chose to discuss religious freedom concerning the Sikhs. It is important for people to understand that people are discriminating against other’s religion (which is completely mistreating each other as an equal) and through an internet campaign we’d like to do our part to fight against this injustice that still exists today."

What is it that would motivate five non-Sikh eighth graders (who go to a school with a very small Sikh population according to their teacher) to choose Sikh rights as their topic, out of all the hundreds of civil rights issues they could have focused on?  I asked them, and their response was they read an article about the discrimination against Sikhs in the U.S. Army.  They thought that it was really unfair and started doing more research and realized that discrimination against Sikhs is a big issue in this country that they need to do something about.

I found this deeply moving and inspiring.  On the one hand, it was a good reminder that the obstacles and struggles we as Sikhs face because of racism and discrimination are universal issues that non-Sikhs who care about fairness and justice may be passionate about.  On the other hand, it showed me that we can all learn so much from young people, who sometimes have a better sense of fairness and unfairness, right and wrong, than mainstream adult society.  These youth truly embodied the Sikh spirit of sarbat da bhala, working for the welfare of ALL.

You can check out their “Sikh People’s Rights Association” website and campaign at www.spra.webs.com and learn more about Teaching Matter’s fabulous Voices and Choices program here.

Students Speak Out!

by Lauren Morris and John Clemente

In the last several weeks our country has witnessed national events with serious implications for our core democratic institutions. A controversial Arizona immigration law and ban on ethnic studies in public schools have groups organizing on both sides. And the terrorist attack averted in Times Square caused politicians to debate new legislation to revoke the citizenship of potential terrorists inspires those who are passionate about the repercussions for what it means to be American.

Mayor David N. Dinkins



"Young people have always been instrumental in the most important social change in our society."

On May 7th and May 11th, 400 middle school students proved that they are ready and eager to join the discussion as well. These amazing kids worked in groups to determine their positions on such issues as racial profiling, gun control, trials for terrorism and religious freedom, to name a few. They researched the issues, Check out some of their incredible work below. 

Student Presentations

At the events, Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Mayor David Dinkins addressed the students with some inspirational words. Students then presented their media campaigns to NYC community activists representing the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Brennan Center for Social Justice, the Anti-Defamation League, Lambda Legal, New Visions for Public Schools, Public Health Solutions, the National Organization for Women, New York Law School, Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and the Sikh Coalition as well as Goldman Sachs Community Teamworks Volunteers who provided feedback on their hard work and suggestions for making their voices heard to those with the power to influence policy. 

The students participating in both events were selected by their schools and represent more than 40 NYC public schools. Students at both events benefit from a sense of accomplishment and they leave with a feeling of empowerment; ready to take action in their own communities and ready to carry the torch of civic responsibility to the next generation.