I’ll admit, if I look at the school year and what is ahead, I could self-ignite an internal stress that could keep me awake for days.  A few years back, I started breaking a school year down using the marathon analogy.  It is not a sprint!  Marathons give us check-points.  Marathoners have strategically-placed water stations to replenish fluids and know exactly where they are during the race.  A marathon runner paces themselves to know exactly how they are feeling at each point during the race.

In school, don’t we do similar things?  As a school, are your “PROCESSES” allowing for a smooth marathon to take shape from September to June?  Incremental growth, daily improvement at something, “small wins” allow for us to keep the jogging going.  Keep one foot in front of the other, keep moving forward.

I give the children moments during the year, about five or six, where I tell them where we are in the marathon.  The 6 mile, 13 mile, 18 mile, 24 (end of May)  and the end of the race where we cross the finish line.  Marathoners take that accomplishment with such regard.  They know how hard it was and how hard they worked to train to complete the marathon.  Remember, I did not say win!  The marathon is about effort, hard work and how it pays off.  It is about trying to improve on your best time.  It is intrinsic motivation.  Growth mindset at its core.

Boys and girls, look what you’ve done!  Look at what you’ve accomplished over the course of the year!  You worked so hard and improved so much!  Again, not about who are our highest performers or lowest performers.  It’s about our processes as educators and how we take children on a learning marathon to get better each day!  Once we stop looking at the grade on top of the paper and understand the importance of the effort that is put into the work, growth can occur.  Taking ownership as educators and leaders to not only grasp, but to exemplify how students can reap the benefits of the nutrients that mistakes have will be a game changer for all of us.

A couple tips to start the school year marathon off the right way;

1. Be clear with your messaging – Stay with it.  The year is a journey, a marathon and not a sprint.  Talk about it as much as you can and to whomever will listen.
2. Create checkpoints during the year tied to your calendar.  Where are we in the marathon and what are you noticing.  TELL EVERYONE what you see.  Your voice matters.
3.  ALWAYS REWARD THE EFFORT AND ENERGY FROM EVERYONE INVOLVED.

If the “Marathon” is well organized with the proper mindset going in, you will exceed your own expectations.  Translation – “If you take care of the little things, the big things will take care of themselves”.

Have a great school year.

Promoting daily, incremental growth to help raise your school to new levels of success.

As we approach the two-year mark since this whole craziness started, I keep asking myself the simple question: Are we doing this right?   As a school, are we headed in the right direction and are we leading the children out of this quagmire?  How do we get our students learning with the same rate of growth we had prior to all this mess?

March, 2020 the whole message changed.  “Together, We can do anything” was the daily mantra to hold onto for me, our staff, our students, and our families.  As a neighborhood school, I kept wondering, “Is everyone okay??”  “What can we do to help?”  “Does anyone need anything our school can provide?”  As time progressed, the answer became more clear:  School is the sense of normalcy we need.   The messaging out of the main office each morning was an attempt to reclaim normalcy and hopefully, a feeling of structure for the children logging in remotely. We wanted students met with a welcoming teacher and staff members as they progressed through a day of learning.  What we received back from our school community was a master class in resiliency.  Communication from families was incredible.  They made sure their child was ready each day, logged in, and a purposeful learner.  (Yes, we had to chase some to get them logged in). 

Through the hybrid learning experience and now having all the students back since September, I kept going back to the message my mentor kept telling me years ago, “Just focus on improving everyday”.   Keep it simple.  To me, the concept is easy to wrap your head around and we apply it to all of our messaging.  If we get better at something everyday, we are headed in the right direction .  Improving behavior, improving focus, improving our work ethic, it is something that applies to everyone.  So, “Improving Everyday” replaced “Together, we can do anything” as the message our children see each in the morning announcements that come from my desk via Screencastify.  

From a Teacher standpoint, their focus is taking each child on a journey of self-improvement as a person and within our curriculum construct.  As professionals, we are well aware that every child improves at differing speeds.  The magic lies in continuing to build their confidence, getting them to believe in themselves, and to see true value in their EFFORT each day.  Growth mindset at the elementary level is ongoing.  The more students see how effort pays off, the more we will reap the rewards as a school through their academic success.  As a building leader, among all the worries we have, I keep a close eye on the enthusiasm as we enter the building each day, and the students’ engagement / exploration in their learning.  I see a focus from each of us (staff and students) on getting better at something everyday.  Here are a few talking points we center our discussions around:

• Small Wins – whether moving up a reading level, consecutive days completing all homework assignments, or for those who are really struggling, showing up each day and trying.  Small wins are so important to celebrate and be enthusiastic about and eventually may turn into HUGE wins.
• Mistakes Are Our Friend – we use mistakes as teachable moments to understand the why in our academics.  Behavioral mistakes are also teachable moments where we look through our options and understand we need to pause before we react or act out.
• Hard Work Pays Off – effort is everything.
• Be The Reason Someone Smiles Today – enthusiasm is contagious.

Keep a simple message at the core of what you are doing each day and ALWAYS search for the small wins.  The small wins will eventually turn into HUGE wins and your children will recognize their efforts matter.

Craig Vogt

Principal – Jefferson Elementary School, Bergenfield, NJ