Creating Schools of Promise Begin with Our Beliefs

Our public school system is increasingly seeing a trend of students who are racially, linguistically, culturally, and otherwise socially diverse. However, the educator force has not changed, and schools leave little room for deviating from the dominant culture which oftentimes does not represent the culture of their students. Leaders and teachers enter schools unaware of how their racial and cultural experiences, as well as that of their students, significantly influence the teaching and learning process. We will never serve children well so long as they are expected to abandon or leave elements of their culture at home. Our urgent task is to create schools of promise.

So, what do I mean when I say, “schools of promise?” Schools of promise prioritize serving children whom we have traditionally not seen potential. Most often these are our students who are black, indigenous, of color and from poverty. Schools of promise see the assets of diverse students, their families, and their communities instead of focusing on their perceived deficits. In essence, they choose to operate with a strengths-based, equity mindset. That is, they believe that students are not responsible for the unequal outcomes they experience within an oppressive school system and they do the work to dismantle the values, norms, and practices that perpetuate the system. So, how can we begin creating the schools of promise that all students deserve?

Leaders Must Know What They Believe

Creating a school of promise begins with the leader taking a hard look at not just their “Why”, but the experiences they have had along the way that have helped to shape their “Why”. As the leader reflects, he or she must begin to answer the tough questions. What do I believe? What experiences have I had in the past that help me to see a vision of promise or potential in my school? Do I see promise in the school’s community? Do I believe that I have the capacity to impact learning for teachers that will ultimately impact learning for students? What are my actions when no one is looking that confirm I believe in the promise and potential of my school?

I recall my first years as a school leader. I was a guru at analyzing data and creating action plans in response to the data. I was well-versed in my school’s data. In fact, I had analyzed the trends of my school’s data over a twenty-year timeframe. My faculty and I created mission and vision statements during the first week of professional development for staff. I clearly started with actions before I surfaced my moral purpose, or the feelings that leading my school evoked. I did not take the time to answer any of the questions I posed. My failure to center myself on my “Why” and the experiences that led to my “Why” slowed the progress of effectively visioning or creating the school of promise that my students deserved. Needless to say, no one remembered or internalized the initial mission and vision statements that we created. They were just words on paper. The work that leaders do to surface their own beliefs matters. The adults did not readily buy in to the plan of transforming my school because the “What” in terms of data led my conversations with them, and not my “Why”.

The work of leader reflection and surfacing beliefs should happen before any efforts are made towards creating the collective vision for a school of promise. Actually, the leader should spend time drafting his or her personal vision for the school of promise and making the mental image of what the school can become so that there will be clarity, intentionality, and specificity in direction when it is time to draft the collective vision. It is important to keep at the forefront that a leader’s beliefs will drive their actions. In order to inspire others to share and follow the vision of creating the school of promise, the leader must make sure that their actual beliefs, stated beliefs, and actions are always in alignment. After doing their personal work, leaders must then surface, challenge, and support a change in teachers’ beliefs so that the work of creating a school of promise can become a reality.

Leaders Must Surface What Their Teachers Believe

Leaders must be intentional about spending time observing teachers and staff to assess ways in which their conversations are aligned with their practice of being inclusive and responsive to the needs of all children they serve. When leaders engage in both individual and group conversations it helps them to answer fundamental questions for each teacher. Who are they? What do they say they believe? What are the actions that confirm what they believe? What were their prior experiences that shaped their current beliefs? What knowledge, skills, and new experiences must they have in order to surface new beliefs? Essentially, we talk often in schools about learning our students’ stories in order to educate them from a resilient, empowering mindset. Equally important, leaders must learn their teachers’ stories in order to support and coach them from a resilient, empowering mindset.

Cycle of Adult Behavior in Schools

There are antecedents and consequences for the ways that adults behave in schools. Leaders must ask questions of their teachers to surface those experiences, to unearth what experiences have shaped their beliefs, values, and attitudes about schools because they also shape their behaviors. Their behaviors dictate the outcomes and consequences we see in schools. This process for understanding adult behavior highlights the value in trying to understand where teachers are coming from in terms of their prior experiences. There is also value in realizing the power of self-efficacy and motivation of all adults to impact learning outcomes for children. Somehow leaders must encourage teachers to reflect on this for themselves because inevitably, if not addressed, they will reproduce the hurt or harm they experienced in school with their students.

When leaders hear teachers say what cannot be done, what leaders must understand is that their teachers are really saying “I need your help”. Leaders cannot quickly assume that teachers are being resistant to change of practice. Instead, they should practice the art of listening to understand them. This becomes the process for how we understand adult behaviors in order to support them with new experiences that ultimately lead to creating the school of promise we desire.

Schools of promise are fundamentally the schools that all children deserve. Creating them starts with the adults doing the uncomfortable and courageous task of reflecting on the experiences that ultimately led to the beliefs they have about diverse students. While this is just the beginning of the work to create a school of promise, understanding the cycle of adult behavior has tremendous potential to empower and inspire the adults in schools to become the educators their students have been waiting for.