March 30th, 2010

The recent New York Times article “Building a Better Teacher” by Elizabeth Green is a fascinating look at measures for improving the quality and effectiveness of teaching in the classroom. The two practitioners who were featured, Doug Lemov and Deborah Lowenberg Ball, taught similar techniques to teachers that were shown to increase engagement and learning. Their work was developed (separately)

Continued...

March 8th, 2010

On a weekly basis, I ask the following two questions to groups of principals and teachers in public school districts:1. Do you believe you can close the achievement gap?2. Do you know how to close the achievement gap?I am very aware that the questions are, while relevant, not completely fair to the participants. Participants usually answer either “No” to both or “Yes” to question one and “No” to

Continued...

February 24th, 2010

The work of the adults in a school district funnels through the system ultimately to the Mission Delivery Point. This core of the student, the teacher, and the family is where all of the values, strategies, programming, curriculum come together to “deliver the Mission.” Aligned adults and systems equate to excellent education for all students, if there is misalignment students fall through the

Continued...

February 17th, 2010

As of Monday, February 22nd our address is: 7037 20th Avenue - Centerville, MN 55038 - Exit 35E at Hwy 14 in Hugo/Centerville. Turn West to the light at 20th Avenue. Take a left south past the water tower and you will see our office building on your right. Stop by when you're in the area and get a peek at our beautiful, new space!

Continued...

February 16th, 2010

Partnership Leadership The foundation for excellence in governance, management and consultation is the willingness to partner with the other adults in the organization. The building, district, board and public come together in excellence to provide the best education for our children. Leaders have a choice about how they will tool their culture and lead the staff and resources. Three

Continued...

February 11th, 2010

Not as easy to distinguish as Governance and Management... We have discussed the importance of Excellence in Governance and Excellence in Management over the last few weeks. While the excellence aspect of each of those may be variant depending upon the function or dysfunction in a district, they are at least easy to define. The School Board will always be the elected officials who perform the

Continued...

February 10th, 2010

Excellence in Governance Needs Excellence in ManagementExcellence in management across all schools and departments in a public school district is one the key areas of needed continuous improvement in order to provide for the promise of public education. Only when district administration operates with public and explicit systems and structures of accountability aligned with District Mission,

Continued...

January 26th, 2010

The Status Quo In your public school district, the words, actions and decisions of the School Board make a profound and systemic difference in achieving the mission and vision of public education. State statute and District policy establish the School Board as the elected body of governors with the expectation for excellence in governance through the key roles of policy, budget, public

Continued...

January 22nd, 2010

Change often requires a reframing of ourselves and our lenses: are we entering twenty-ten or is it two-thousand-ten? What new changes will we make this year as we consider our physical and/or our fiscal fitness? At TeamWorks, we’re jumping on the change bandwagon: welcoming new people, serving our clients through new services, moving to a new location, and adopting a new logo. 2010 (no

Continued...

July 21st, 2009

We recently updated our website with a new look, feel and functionality. Take a look around!

Continued...

June 29th, 2009

If it’s summertime, education professionals must be relaxing on a beach somewhere, right? Hardly. I recently spent two days with a group of K-12 principals and administrators who came together to evaluate, learn, improve and refocus for the coming year. Their “Summer Projects and Tasks” list was 10 pages long!We started our work by going “back to the basics,” with a conversation around the point

Continued...