Anne Jolly's Diary

Entry 26: I wanted to whistle happily, but the school hall was hardly the place for that. The week had flown by since our Impact Team kickoff, and I couldn't wait to see what the teams were doing now. I cheerfully circled through the halls, stopping by the team work rooms to collect the Impact Team notebooks and carry them to the copy room. There I planned to make copies of each new log entry. I looked forward to spending the remainder of the day carefully perusing the team logs and developing a communication procedure whereby each team could share its strategies and get feedback.

As I expectantly opened notebook after notebook, disappointment washed over me in waves. Not a single new entry - not even one. Not from any team. A whole week had passed, and no teams have met? I tried to figure it out. Maybe since teachers worked three hours during last week's kickoff to develop action plans and begin logs, they didn't think it necessary to meet this week. Or, did this reflect an ominous lack of enthusiasm and commitment to the project?

The morning progressed, and I spent every minute busily engaged in some activity or other. I accomplished absolutely nothing. My brain was otherwise engaged. I knew that teachers will buy into a process and make changes when they believe the change will help their students. Commitment. Interest. Momentum. Belief in good results. Those are the ingredients I have to stir into this Impact Team process. How?

Plans swirled in my mind. I'd figure out a way to attach clipboards to the walls in the teacher workroom and display their logs of their meetings. I'd develop feedback forms for them to use as they examined other teams' action plans. I'd generate a "News With an Impact" newsletter and circulate this among the teams. I'd even hold an Impact Team pep rally if it would help. I decided to start by leaving each team an upbeat message to let them know that I had looked at their Impact Team notebooks and appreciated their efforts from last week.

As I slipped the messages into the notebooks, a teacher from Team 7 came in to show me some baseline data his team is collecting on their students' writing. They're designing their own pre- and post-tests to see if their Impact Team strategies have any effect through the year. I felt a smile coming on. This team hasn't had another official impact team meeting yet, but they're talking, planning, and taking actions around a shared instructional focus.

"Get a grip!" I scolded myself. "These teachers are professional educators who will be invaluable partners in designing a workable Impact Team process. Relax and enjoy the trip."

Entry 27: Tomorrow I'll be meeting with the principal at middle school #3 about starting the Impact Team process there. The teacher at our school who formerly taught at that school shared an idea with me. According to him, lots of kids from that tough neighborhood have inherited "chips" on their shoulders. They will try teachers to the max, deliberately insult them, deliberately disrupt. At this school, teachers may want to focus on developing ways to deal with this kind of harassment from students. He suggested that studying the community and finding ways to relate classroom work to their real lives would be a great way to go with these students.

Entry 28: My professional-looking suit and briefcase didn't impress anyone at school #3. The office staff seemed barely aware of my arrival amidst the constant phone calls and bombardment by students. The principal, however, greeted me warmly. As we discussed the Impact Team process in his small, comfortably cluttered office, he seemed increasingly receptive to the idea. By the meeting's end, the principal indicated that he wanted his whole faculty to participate in the project. I relished his enthusiasm, but proposed that we let the teachers decide if and how they wanted to participate. In return, I agreed to present the Impact Team process to his teachers at a faculty meeting that afternoon. I must confess that, at this point in the year, the prospect of training and working with another entire school faculty is a bit staggering. Can I provide the crucial follow-up needed with each team at this school, too?

Entry 29: I arrived at school #3 early to set things up for the faculty meeting presentation. The faculty meeting was held - predictably - in the cafeteria. (I've often wondered if someone held a contest to see who could design the most uncomfortable seat, then mass-produced the seats and sold them to school cafeterias.) I introduced myself to individual teachers as they arrived. All in all, the faculty looked whipped.

At 3:00 the principal began by announcing that if the faculty wanted to be out in an hour and a half, it was time to start. An hour and a half? After school hours and on those uncomfortable seats? I thought he was joking and looked around for smiles. Nobody smiled. Then a traditional faculty meeting ensued, with the principal reminding teachers of procedures they should follow, citing examples of times when teachers had not followed procedures and specifying problems that had arisen because of teacher failure to follow procedures. Around 4:00 he introduced me.

I took a quick read of my tired, skeptical audience, and delivered my presentation in 15 minutes, injecting all of the enthusiasm and positive energy I could muster. I offered to come by and spend a day at the school talking with teachers during their planning periods about the process. I offered them some options to think about such as, do they want to participate? What form would they like that participation to take?

When I finished, the principal restated some of what I said. He then asked each teacher to list three top areas the students need to improve in and turn those in to him the next day. I exited the faculty meeting at 4:30. I hope the teachers got home before dark.

Entry 30: My curiosity got the best of me, so I waited only one day before calling back to find out what the faculty at school #3 decided. The principal will have to get back to me about that. He hasn't had time to check. He had a break-in at the school, (the second in as many days) and band instruments were missing. Parents were already lined up outside his office demanding that he replace their child's drums, trumpets, and so on. School at its most hectic.

I chastise myself now for ever questioning whether I wanted to work with this school this year. I especially hope that this faculty accepts the challenge of trying something new. In fact, I'm counting on it.