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The October Forum marks the
shift in our program from learning the basic concepts of Adaptive Leadership™ to
engaging in focused Action Planning around high school reform. We
will start the October Forum with a review of where we are with Adaptive
Leadership™ and the steps we have taken to use these skills in our work. In
preparation, we recommend you re-read the chapters in Part Two, with particular
attention to Chapter 6, “Give the Work Back.”
Reading #1.
Chapter 6, “Give the Work Back,” from
Leadership on the Line, by Ronald A. Heifetz and Marty Linsky.
It may seem counter-intuitive that
in the shift from leading through complex challenges to developing and
implementing a comprehensive action plan, we would be talking about “giving the
work back.” We do not mean to suggest you should develop an action plan and
then turn it over to others to implement. Rather, we want to focus your
attention on what you will be asking of others when it comes time to implement
your action plan, and to think about what part of what you are asking others to
do is their work to complete. Note also the way the authors suggest that
you can use the tools of “Observation, Interpretation, Intervention” that we
practice in our small groups when you are leading on your own agendas.
Next, as we shift to Action
Planning around high school reform, we will engage in a focused conversation on
what the contours of an action plan might look like. We will use the
National High School Alliance’s A Call to Action as the frame for this
conversation.
Reading #2. A
Call to Action: Transforming High School for All Youth, by the
National High School Alliance, including the Core Principles graphic.
A Call to Action suggests
six core principles, each followed by recommended strategies, to transform high
school for all youth. The Alliance suggests that, “To create deep and lasting
change, all six core principles must be addressed. The principles are
interdependent and must function as part of a comprehensive plan focused on
ensuring that all students are ready for college, careers, and active civic
participation.” We will deliberate the principles, strategies, and the charge
that any action plan must address each principle.
After reflecting on this framework
and sharing experiences among the cohort in implementing high school reform, we
will embark on an Action Planning process that will allow you to leave the Forum
with a concrete set of strategies to address high school reform systemically—and
to anticipate some of the adaptive challenges you are likely to encounter along
the way.
Business Meeting
Reality Check 2006,
Issue No. 4:
The Insiders: How Principals and
Superintendents See Public Education Today.
A major outcome of the Ohio Leadership Forum is to help inform district, state,
and national policy. During the business meeting, we will have a focused
discussion of the ways our new policy analysts will help achieve these
outcomes. We will include a review of the key findings from Public Agenda’s
latest poll, this time focused on superintendents and principals. You will want
to review the introduction, pages 1-5, of the report prior to the meeting.
All readings are reprinted with
permission for this meeting.
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