Lead From Where You Are

This post was started just over two weeks ago.  The flu bug hit, so I was down and out for awhile.  As I write today, I am enjoying the end of a week-long spring break, wishing I had my full pre-flu energy back, still unsure about the situation I wrote about below, and hoping for a strong last-quarter finish to the 24-25 school year.

I’m feeling deflated this week.  I brought a proposal (for the second or third time) to a leader in our district and was told, once again, “Not now.”  My reaction to their response felt like it came out of nowhere.  It was swift and seemingly out of my control:  I cried.  Hard.  Right there in the meeting.

I’m not proud of my reaction.  I can do better.

My proposal is and has been around the idea of forming a team to solidify our approach to early literacy instruction.  My proposal (which probably wasn’t explained clearly) is not about bringing some new ideas to the table, but rather tightening up those pieces of an MTSS system that we already have in place, while adding missing pieces.

The inspiration for bringing the proposal back came from Episodes 11, 12, and 13 of Sold a Story.  Much of my reaction to those episodes was captured in my March 2 What If… post.  In addition to the success that is occurring in Steubenville, Ohio under Success for All, we are hearing about more and more success stories.

Margaret Goldberg keeps us grounded in reality about the difficulty of the work in her honest reflections about her school’s successes.  Her article, Getting Reading Right is Messy, featured in Reading Rockets, is a perfect reminder of both the difficulty and the doubt that can come with success.

Despite the difficulty and the doubt, it is these stories that will keep me afloat.  It is the support of coworkers (thank you, Team!) that will pick me up.  It is the understanding of others’ perspectives that will keep me grounded.  My district leader has (too!) much on their plate.  They are privy to information that I am not (and shouldn’t be).  They work their tail off.  Their dismissal to my proposal is, perhaps, not permanent.

It is “the signs from above” that will provide the hope I need.  On the same day of the “dismissal” and my disastrous reaction, I was part of a planning committee for a book study that will be hosted by The Reading League this summer.  The book will provide THE roadmap for the plan that I so poorly explained… or attempted to explain.  More on this opportunity in a future blogpost.

At The Reading League Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina last October, we were reminded by Kristen Wynn to “Lead From Where You Are” (a quote associated with John Maxwell).  I will continue to do that in my role as an instructional coach.  When I regain equilibrium, I will bring the proposal forward again.

Effective literacy instruction with district-wide and life-long results can happen.  Success stories abound:

Building a  strong foundation – beginning with our earliest readers in preschool through second grade – is the logical place to start.  We can learn from others’ success.  We can customize the system to fit the needs of the learners that we serve.  There is no time like the present.  As Pamela Snow so compellingly reminds us:  we cannot afford to waste another 20 years.  Children’s instructional time is not ours to waste.