2019 High AIMS Summer Institute

While everyone works very hard in many districts they are often not achieving the results they expect. This is because, while everyone works heroically hard, much of the time is spent learning how to work within the team. The 2004 US Olympic men’s basketball team, originally known as the Dream Team, only focused on top talent resulting in unintended poor results. What this tells us is that we need to spend more time learning to work in teams, which includes:
Proper onboarding: It’s not just a tactical activity but helping new team members integrate into the organization and/or position.
Culture of learning and iterating: Organizations need space to learn and improve frequently.
Utilizing common protocol: Meetings are a time consuming and we need to use time more effectively.

Each district has its own unique shape which needs to be tweaked as strategies and goals change. The research shows the common factor for success is highly functional teams. Highly functional teams are able to exercise the following 6 practices:
Planning for change
Building trusting teams
Defining the work before the people
Aiming for safe enough to try instead of consensus
Harnessing the flow of information and sharing it quickly
Creating a learning organization that evolves

Participants will develop a working understanding of the 6 vital practices for thriving and responsive schools as defined in the The NEW School Rules book from the author, Anthony Kim. Each practice will allow for experiments and organizational space to engage in conversations, knowledge sharing, and models based on success stories in Lakota Local Schools and other districts Education Elements work with. In particular, this session will share practical lessons for how to improve role clarity, purposes for meetings, and building educational champions to lead the change.