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The Role(s) of Leadership
Many leaders in education, said James Blake (Lincoln Public Schools), do not have the word “leader” in their title. The work is done at a distributed level with teacher leaders, district leaders, and community members who have all embraced the leadership opportunities that are inherent to their role. In this session, Summit participants heard from leaders at different levels and in different roles. Blake guided the conversation by asking questions of each panelist, starting from the “balcony view” and drilling down into the school building.
The five panelists were as follows:
- Mike Heinz: science coordinator, New Jersey Department of Education; president of Council of State Science Supervisors
- Elizabeth Mulkerrin: Omaha Zoo and Aquarium; National Science Teaching Association president elect; former science teacher
- Gudiel Crosthwaite: superintendent, Lynwood Unified School District
- Zoe Evans: principal, Bowdon High School; former science teacher
- Takako Olson: director of curriculum, Lincoln Public Schools
CREATING A COMMON VISION OF SCIENCE WITHIN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
At the federal level, began Heinz, the Every Student Succeeds Act1 (ESSA) affects budget and time in schools. Heinz shared his opinion that ESSA accidentally overemphasizes math and English language arts at the expense of science. There are many national organizations, including NSTA (National Science Teaching Association), AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science), CSSS (Council of State Science Supervisors), NSELA (National Science Education Leadership Association), and the National Academies, that have a great deal of influence in shaping resources and policies for educators. On the state level, governors and commissioners bring their policy ideas to the table, and state boards of education are either appointed or elected. At the mid-level of leadership, said Heinz, there are district-level superintendents, building-level administrators, supervisors, and educators. Heinz said that educators “have a lot of people standing behind them, each nudging and pushing and pulling a little bit.” To communicate and establish a coherent vision of science education in this system, Heinz said that he tries to speak simply, speak without jargon, and use only a few words to state his case. Regardless of the “pushes and pulls,” the message for science education has remained consistent over the past 12 years since the development of the NGSS.
Mulkerrin agreed with the need for a common vision and added that the community can be an important partner in implementing the vision. Informal science organizations, such as museums, nature centers, zoos, and aquariums, also need a place at the table to discuss how to engage students and teachers to meet the needs of the community. Crosthwaite added that organizations that hold the same vision can be critical partners in reinforcing, supporting, and guiding science education; he said that schools and educators manage many demands, so it can be enormously helpful to have partners who are able to focus more closely on science education. He emphasized, however, that partnerships be used to build capacity so that efforts are sustainable moving forward.
OPPORTUNITIES AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL
To open the conversation around opportunities at the district level, Crosthwaite shared information about the district he works for—Lynwood Unified School District—that serves about 12,000 students and is located
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about 15 miles southeast of Los Angeles, California. The community is historically underserved, with nearly all students qualifying for free and reduced lunch; 94 percent of students are Latino, 5 percent are Black, and about a third are English language learners. Unfortunately, said Crosthwaite, there is a large achievement gap for English learners across the state of California; these disparities include differences in math proficiency and graduation rates. There are 4.9 million students who are English learners across the nation, and it is the fastest-growing population. “If we are serious about supporting all kids,” he said, we need to ensure that we understand the demographics of students and their specific needs.
Crosthwaite shared the details of how science education was transformed in his school district. In 2010, 55 percent of the students in the district had access to biology, which was the only college-required science course offered. The district brought together teachers, students, and community members, and had “hard conversations” to decide how to best support the students. The group determined that “if we truly believe in kids,” students need access to the rigorous courses that are required for college entrance. There were many barriers in the way, he said, including lack of prerequisites, low GPAs, and credentialing for educators. The district worked to find ways around these barriers, and now 97 percent of ninth-grade students and 68 percent of juniors are enrolled in college-required science courses. Crosthwaite stressed that if expectations are raised, students will rise to the challenge. Generally, when more students take advanced placement exams, the passing rate goes down; however, in Lynwood, it went slightly up when classes were opened to more students. Lynwood has been recognized for its success in improving access to rigorous courses for students of color, said Crosthwaite, and students now have a better, more well-rounded, more hands-on experience with science.
Blake asked Crosthwaite to further describe the roadmap of how these changes were implemented. Crosthwaite said it was a process that involved many conversations and meetings among principals, department chairs, and educators. These conversations involved looking closely at the data about which students had access to what types of courses, and principals were “key to these conversations.” Schools developed new master schedules, and there were systems put in place to check whether the new schedules were working as intended. Blake added that master schedules are a “puzzle,” but that there are programs that allow you to “stand back and look at the equity within the schedule.” Crosthwaite said that one critical role of the district is to determine which school activities are non-negotiable and which are expendable. Although teachers are the experts, and deserve some autonomy in their work, districts can help make the difficult decisions about how to allocate time and resources to best support students.
ROLE OF SCHOOL LEADERS
Blake asked Evans and Olson to comment on the role of school leaders in implementation of the NGSS. Evans, who is currently principal of a small, rural high school in Georgia, said that principals serve multiple roles: gatekeepers, filters, and motivators. Principals are the gatekeepers of whether and how new standards or curricula are implemented. They also serve to filter out noise and conflicting information from the community, classrooms, educators, and the district. For example, said Evans, if a science teacher wants to implement three-dimensional (3-D) teaching and learning, school-level administrators have a responsibility to help the teacher figure out the process and how to remain in compliance with relevant policies. Another role is to encourage and motivate teachers to make changes. Evans noted that some teachers are very comfortable in their teaching practices, and that doing new things is “very frightening.” School-level administrators can encourage these educators to have the courage to learn new things and implement new practices to improve education for the students. Evans likened the role of principal to that of a “ringmaster” who wears “lots of hats.”
Olson, who serves as the director of curriculum for Lincoln Public Schools, said that one of her jobs is to create an opportunity for educators to speak with stakeholders (e.g., superintendents and school board members) in a way that allows them to understand 3-D standards. For example, she said, educators can explain the pedagogical shift from “learning about” to “figuring out.” These are important words to use to get stakeholders to buy into 3-D standards; establishing buy-in is particularly critical for stakeholders who control budgets and resources.
STUDENT-DRIVEN EDUCATION
Blake asked the panelists to consider what science education would look like if educators were “just teaching for fun” and in the best interests
of their students (rather than toward standards or assessments). Mulkerrin responded that one critical piece is establishing a sense of exploration and engagement within students. To do so, educators need to be listening to what kids are talking about, what is relevant in the community, and what “science action” is happening locally. In an ideal world, educators are facilitators for students to explore things that are relevant and interesting to them, she said. In the high school program at the Omaha Zoo Academy, students take classes focused on animal science and conservation research. Within these areas of focus are the traditional subjects of English, social studies, math, and science; the particular projects and topics of study are driven by the students. Each year, the students develop a new set of questions to explore, and the teachers and staff help the students engage in these efforts to discover and learn concepts through experiential learning. The result of this approach, said Mulkerrin, is that many Zoo Academy students are following their interests and pursuing careers in science; she noted that there is now a surplus of veterinarians, veterinarian techs, and conservation researchers in the Omaha area. The 26 years of success at the Zoo Academy demonstrates the importance of letting students facilitate, guide, and direct their own learning, she said.
ADDRESSING CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTATION
Blake asked panelists to identify the greatest needs associated with implementation of the NGSS. Evans identified two major challenges: professional learning and high-quality materials. Professional learning “always has to come first,” she said, and the need will never end. New teachers will always be entering the system, and there will always be some teachers who need support for their ambitious plans and some teachers who need more basic education and training. High-quality materials can help support teachers who are entering teaching without a strong science background or who are coming from another field. Evans said that in her experience, teachers tend to return to their “safe place,” which is the way they were taught themselves. Both professional learning and high-quality materials can help these teachers make the transition from 1-D to 3-D education. Heinz encouraged cross-border collaborations and partnerships, noting that educators who work together to develop resources are at the same time getting rich professional learning opportunities. Collaboration is an “incredibly powerful tool” for educators and it helps ease the heavy lifting, Heinz said. Evans concurred with the power of collaboration and
noted that as a non-NGSS state with standards that were informed by the Framework, Georgia is still able to use materials and resources from other states. Particularly in schools and communities where science teachers may not have colleagues, it is essential to be able to build community and share resources. This is one of the “wonderful things” that has come out of NGSS implementation, said Evans. Doors and borders were opened, and educators were able to share ideas and resources that could be modified for the needs of a particular community.
Olson added that developing good resources—such as professional learning and high-quality materials—requires ample budget allocation and prioritization of stakeholders. It can be challenging to elevate science education in a “reading and math heavy society,” but it is imperative. It is critical for school districts to have a voice within their department of education, whether as consultants, collaborators, or advocates. School districts can also partner with higher education institutions that train preservice science teachers. When working with state deparments of education around curriculum assessment, educators need to place themselves in the position to “have the power to change mindset and practices.”
