Khalid Oluewu, principal of Webster Elementary School in Chicago, has done what many principals would love to do: He has created structures and practices at his school to ACCELERATE learning for all, and in particular for Black males.

Wow. The idea started when he was a teacher and taught middle school math and had students come to him years behind. He looped with the students and in three short years he not only got them on grade level, but when they went to high school they were able to skip Algebra and start with Geometry.

Now as a principal he put four things in place to accelerate learning - to have students learn one and a half years' worth in just a year):

1. Have teachers focus on PRIORITY standards

2. Have teachers provide JUST-IN-TIME supports not live in remediation

3. Provide more individualized learning by having teachers use small groups and by partnering with organizations who could provide high-impact tutoring

4. Using tech platforms for more individualized learning

The results? In one year the overall proficiency level leaped from just 6% to 50% and for Black boys, it went from just 2% to 30%! Truly impressive. And those numbers keep climbing up, far from the single-digit proficiency levels they were before.

To learn more, check out these resources:

• Read Khalid's research paper: Year of Acceleration for All (Yes, that includes Black Males)

• Visit Webster Elementary School if you're in Chicago

• Reach out via email: koluewu@cps.edu

As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment. And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

After 30 years in the field Elena Aguilar gathered all of her experience and learning and put together the most powerful book on coaching we've seen -- Arise: The Art of Transformational Coaching. Elena sees coaching as the way -- one conversation at a time -- that we transform our schools.

In this deeply insightful conversation she shares the importance of coaching more than the teacher BEHAVIORS we are all used to coaching. She shared an example of how, when she coached a teacher to change her behavior -- and change her classroom from rows and direct instruction to groups -- once Elena left, she reverted back to the rows. Elena asked, 'Why?" and the teacher was honest in saying she just didn't believe that groups were the best way for students to learn.

So Elena has come to the conclusion that for coaching to be truly transformative, we need to coach teachers' BELIEFS, BEHAVIORS, and ways of BEING, or the "Three Bs" as she calls it.

This approach to coaching is so successful because she acknowledges that teachers are human, and we need to address the emotions that are involved in the job.

Listen to this great conversation, and you'll walk away with several ideas you can use immediately. Elena shares how you can transform that staff meeting you're planning by cutting out some of the content and carving out 6 minutes for people to connect before diving in.

She also shared a few tools that she uses in her coaching -- the Spheres of Influence and Gaps Framework -- and once you hear her explain them, you can use them in your conversations and coaching with staff as well.

Overall, Elena's ideas from her book Arise all aim at helping you to COMMUNICATE better with staff and creating the CONDITIONS so your staff can thrive.

Learn more about Elena and her work: https://www.brightmorningteam.com/

As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment. And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.

Mike returns to the podcast! Jenn and Mike had a great conversation with Coach Carlos about his book Power Engage: Seven Power Moves for Building Strong Relationships to Increase Engagement with Students. No, he's not a coach of a sports team, but a former school leader who has successfully turned around three failing schools by improving STUDENT ENGAGEMENT.

How? By focusing on relationships. Teacher-student relationships and parent-school relationships are particularly key. Listen as we talk about the 3 indicators every school should examine to detect problems with culture:

1. Three years of recruitment data
2. Three years of retention data (both student and teacher)
3. Response to quality instruction

Then make sure your teachers are having the right type of relationships with students, that is, performance-based relationships. These are relationships where teachers have control and engagement is high. Not punitive relationships, and not permissive relationships.

Coach Carlos also talks about the importance of our teachers having the right MINDSET. Do your teachers have a COACH-DRIVEN mindset? We know coaching is important as a pedagogical tool, but did you know it's important in building relationships, too?

To learn more about his book go to: https://www.solutiontree.com/power-engage.html

To learn more about Coach Carlos: https://www.solutiontree.com/carlos-johnson.html

As always, send your comments, questions, and show ideas to mike@schoolleadershipshow.com. Consider rating the podcast in iTunes and leaving a comment. And please pass the show along to your colleagues. Additionally, if you have other non-education books with implications for school leaders, send those suggestions our way, too. And finally, If you or someone you know would like to sponsor the show, send Mike an email at mike@schoolleadershipshow.com.