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Audrey Hicks is principal at Rorimer Elementary School.
My overall association with Ball has really transformed me in many ways. Three years ago, when Sue Brewer mentioned that we were among several districts that the Ball Foundation was considering for a partnership, I remember thinking, “What is the Ball Foundation?” We were told that they were a seed company and that we might know them as the producers of Burpee Seeds. This in itself seemed unusual, and at that moment I thought, “I wonder what they’ll give us.” A million needs came to mind, and my ideas were very materialistic. I thought about literacy programs and training. But then, early on, I started to realize that this wasn’t about what they were going to give us. Instead, this was really a process of transformation.
Many of the strategies that Ball taught us were very powerful – like the World Café or Open Space Technology or just the un-mapping of the process on a timeline grid across the wall. They were all strategies that allowed people to have a bigger voice. Seeing these processes empowered me to be a better leader. So, I changed the way I operated at my school, and I began to run my staff meetings differently. I strategize more in preplanning a meeting to make sure that people have a voice. The meetings are designed to allow leadership to emerge. I’ve noticed the teachers are much more energetic and excited about meetings. They feel they’ve learned from each other, and I feel I’m learning from them as well.
I’ve also noticed that we do more collaboration at our District Leadership Team meetings than we did before. I never knew that much about our high schools, and now that I’ve interacted with their teachers and principals, I see that they’ve become more aware of our needs and we’ve become more aware of their needs. So these processes from Ball have transformed all areas of the district.
Sometimes when we’re in discussions with the Ball Foundation, they talk about different rooms that your mind visits, one of which is the room of confusion. Every so often when we meet, I go into that room of confusion, and I think, “Oh my gosh, how are we going to finish this in one day? Where are we going with this?” But it makes me think about things at a higher level, and I wonder, “How are we going to make this connect?” Then at some point, with all the dialogue and all the points of view, it starts to come together.
Something that happened recently at home is a great illustration of this. My husband bought the movie Doubt, and when we put it in the DVD player and it started playing, something seemed wrong. My husband said, “Is the movie jumping around? It just seems so confusing – like we’re seeing the end of the movie.” But then pieces would unfold, and we would say, “Wow, isn’t that interesting? Now I understand, but it seems like this scene should have been at the beginning.” Because of the confusion, I was thinking a lot more about the movie and what it was all about. Then the credits came up midstream, before the movie ended. I said to my husband, “There is something wrong with this DVD. It seems that we’ve watched this whole movie out of sequence. You ought to return it.” He stated, “Let me just try it again and see what happens.” So, he put the movie back in, and sure enough, it played in the correct sequence. We viewed it a second time. I said to my husband after, “You know what? I liked it better when it was jumping around.” I really had to think about what was happening and try to make the connections, which brought the movie to another level for me. It actually was a little boring when we played it in order.
That experience reminded me of that room of confusion which stretches my mind and in actuality moves me to the next level. Before, if I felt confused in a meeting, I would think, “Just give me the answer already. I’m getting frustrated.” Now, I realize that confusion is part of the process of learning, and it’s what moves you forward in your thinking. As a result, I don’t get frustrated anymore or think, “Come on, let’s end this and get an answer.” I know that it’s all part of the process, and that it’s transforming us. As a district, we now realize that sometimes we have to work slower to get further. It may take us a while to get to our goal, but when we get there, it’s well thought out, everybody is committed, everybody has had input, and our plan is more effective.
I used to wonder about Ball, “What’s the hidden agenda here?”, but realized early on that they didn’t have a hidden agenda. They were not trying to sell us anything or get us to do a particular program. I do think there was an agenda in terms of transforming the district and its leadership. I also believe that Ball continually researches these processes that transform the interactions of people, and that they knew if they had the right group of people in the room, they’d be able to teach them to view their assets and improve literacy. I’m just thankful that it wasn’t a traditional partnership, because if they had given us so many thousands of dollars to buy programs, we’d have to implement those – and maybe they would have worked and maybe not. Instead, this is a much more enriching relationship. I just marvel at the expertise the Ball people bring. They’re brilliant minds, and I’m fascinated that somebody was willing to give money to allow these brilliant minds to have the time to do the research and bring it to us.
Word cloud created at wordle.net.
Sandy Johnson is the principal of Rowland Elementary School.
When we started the work with the Ball Foundation, I sensed that it would be a different way of working. I would often hear from individuals who were involved early on in the partnership that there were always questions asked and no answers given. For me, it was a good thing because I think public education isn’t known for its regenerative nature. We’re working hard on the job, but there is not time within the system to ponder and think in new ways.
The experience with Ball has been one of affirmation, frustration, discomfort and hope. I knew there was a purpose to the process, and we had to shift our focus from the negatives and barriers of our work to why we do what we do. We had to decide if what we do truly accomplishes our goals. It was a chance to look at things differently, an opportunity to hear many voices, both positive and negative, to see the old patterns and realize that this was a chance to interact with each other in new ways. Through this process, we’ve clarified our mission and goals. My hope is that it will help us stay focused on the work that really matters, and that the system will make time to grow the interpersonal skills of the group so we can fulfill our goals despite the challenging times.
The major eye opener for me was realizing that you have to look at the organization as a system, and how we must work to understand and honor everyone for who they are and where they are. Through all the partnership events, I was able to see, hear and feel the frustration, the complaining, the fear of change, but also the hope and joy regarding teaching that people still had within. I was glad to see that feelings of hope came up in almost every situation. It was a little shaky at times, but people really did want to talk to each other, have their say, and be acknowledged as members of the group.
I’ve tried to differentiate how I work with my own staff. I have had to work hard to understand and honor people’s perspectives. I’ve tried to coach more and direct less—not an easy task. But a major goal of a coach is interacting, so the process is not the coach giving or even knowing all the answers, but building relationships so people feel safe to think for themselves.
Overall, this process has given me hope that we can create a self-sustaining district system. I think that others as well as myself have been striving to create parts of a system on a smaller and less sophisticated scale at our schools. My hope is the creation of a system that can sustain the process and give people the skills needed to enable the organization to naturally grow and regenerate.
Word cloud created at wordle.net.
Elaine McCauley is the principal of Farjardo Elementary School.
One thing that surprises me is the extreme commitment of the Ball partners. My very first contact with some of them was when they came in and met with the elementary school principals. I remember thinking, “Well, I might see one or two of them along the way sometime,” but they are here, and they are a part of us. We’re not a large district, but I think it’s amazing, considering how many of us there are, to feel that I can email Barbara Iverson and say, “I’m in a sticky situation. I’m trying to move this way with the staff. Can you help me think it through?” Or seek out Bob Hill at a meeting and ask him a question very comfortably. They feel like they’re a part of us.
Another thing that the Ball Partnership does differently than other consultants that have been brought into the district is they live what they say. They don’t come in proclaiming, “We’ve done the research, this is what we think this is best, and this is what we need you to do if you’re in partnership with us.” They come in as critical friends and as thought partners. They work with us to tap into our best thinking, and help us to find our highest purpose, and the best means to go about it. That is hugely different from any other partnership that I think you would find in education.
A key experience for me was working in conjunction with the Ball partners on the strategic plan for the district. I was the action team leader for Strategy Five, which stated, “We will ensure superior certificated and classified employees.” That experience didn’t cause just a minor shift in my thinking, but more a seismic shift in my thoughts about what it means to really collaborate and center our focus on our students, and what we can do to make a difference for them.
The strategic planning process was made possible by the partnership with the Ball Foundation, and their resources to help us. It became evident early on that to support the focus on literacy, we needed to look at what we believe and how we work with each other and the students. The strategic plan was an attempt to align these things. I learned a lot from Ball’s resources, including Stephanie Pace Marshall. She came in and spoke to us about her experience with planning, how she worked with her staff and how they lived into their strategic plan, and the whole idea of transformational change and an emerging system. It made me realize that the system does have to change in order to support the things we need to do
We learned to work at a deeper level of collaboration with the Ball partners acting as our thought partners – asking the right questions and helping us to clarify our thinking. That was key. For myself, I saw the Ball partners as models. I observed how they worked with both large and small groups, and watched the way they asked questions. They helped people to think through things.
I felt like I came out of the process with a renewed excitement about the potential of the work that we do on a day-to-day basis, and a keen understanding of Ball’s original statement – that the excellence we need is here. We just need to connect and tap into it for the benefit of everyone.
One of the key things that’s happened for me as a result of my work with Ball is I spend much more time getting ready for staff meetings. I now see that the design and planning of those meetings is very critical. I no longer walk in and say, “Let’s talk about the balls for the playground.” That’s something that can be handled on a piece of paper very quickly. What I’ve been working really hard to focus on with the staff is, “What do we believe about our work here at Farjardo? How do we build true collaboration?”
It’s just like the district at large. We are a microcosm of the district, and I have some people who are highly involved and have been a part of many of these activities. And then there are others who reluctantly attended the Articulation Days, and the Immersion Day and the World Café, and are still in that “gaining awareness” stage. Maybe they’re ready to jump into the collaborative process with their colleagues, or maybe they’re not yet ready to say, “This is what we believe. As we look at our mission, this is who we are and who we want to be and where we want to go.” We’re all in the process somewhere. Sometimes that’s hard. I have a sense of urgency about where we need to go. So I have to stop and slow myself down sometimes, and realize that everybody is not there or, at least, not ready to go there yet.
What Ball is doing is getting us there. They are giving us a lot of experiences in working with each other. They are also making resources available to us like the facilitation training, which helps me with that sense of urgency. Instead of trying to move things along, I need to stand there and let the thinking and the process happen – which ultimately helps me be better at what it is I do in a leadership role. I feel like I’ve really tried to practice more courageous leadership. When my staff says, “We’re not sure about this,” then I may be trying too hard to go in a certain direction. So I respond by asking them to tell me what I can do to help us all move along better.
I’ve also learned that I don’t need nor should I provide the answers. I need to step back and let the people who ultimately have the problem to own the problem; to find the solutions themselves or with their colleagues. I think that’s hard because sometimes people expect you to have the answer and to give it to them. But then they don’t have ownership of anything, and we need to share both the ownership and the leadership. Even when we do the hard work around the restructuring of the district – which is scary – it’s still exhilarating and transformative because of the way we are approaching it and the ownership that everyone shares. We’re dealing with some major challenges, but we look at it in a positive way and say, “This is a chance for us to begin looking at the way we do business.” Still, this has been a challenging year for us. I heard Bob Hill say that it’s difficult because we’re trying to create a new system while still working in the old system, and that’s always a struggle because the old system keeps tugging. But what a perfect time to try to make that leap into a new emerging system.
Good stuff is going to come out of this, and that’s the seed of all these factors that are forcing us to do things we wouldn’t have ordinarily done. We’ll have in place something that can just explode. Ultimately, I would love to see us leading the way in changing education.
Word cloud created at wordle.net.
