The impact of a father on education

Taken from Fatherhood.gov:

When fathers are involved in the lives of their children, especially their education, their children learn more, perform better in school, and exhibit healthier behavior. Even when fathers do not share a home with their children, their active involvement can have a lasting and positive impact. There are countless ways to be involved in your child’s education at all ages.

According to a 2007 National Center for Education Statistics Report:

• 92% of students in grades K though 12 had parents who reported receiving any information from the school on the student’s performance.
• 83% had parents who received any information about how to help with homework.
• 59% of students in grades K through 12 had parents who were "very satisfied" with their child’s school; 55% had parents who were very satisfied with the school’s parent-staff interactions.

The presence of a responsible father promotes improves academic performance and reduces disciplinary problems among children.

Preschoolers with actively involved fathers have stronger verbal skills.
Radin, N., 1982, “Primary Caregiving and Role-Sharing Fathers,” in Non- Traditional Families: Parenting and Child Development, edited by M. Lamb, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, pp. 173–204.

Children with actively involved fathers display less behavior problems in school.
Amato, P.R., and Rivera, F., 1999, “Paternal Involvement and Children’s Behavior Problems,” Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 375–384.

Girls with strong relationships with their fathers do better in mathematics.
Radin, N., and Russell, G., 1983, “Increased Father Participation and Child Development Outcomes,” in Fatherhood and Family Policy, edited by M.E. Lamb and A. Sagi, Hillside, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 191–218.

Boys with actively involved fathers tend to get better grades and perform better on achievement tests.
Biller, H.B. 1993, Fathers and Families: Paternal Factors in Child Development, Westport, CT: Auburn House.

Research shows that even very young children who have experienced high father involvement show an increase in curiosity and in problem solving capacity. Fathers’ involvement seems to encourage children’s exploration of the world around them and confidence in their ability to solve problems.
Pruett, Kyle D. 2000. Fatherneed: Why Father Care is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child. New York: Free Press.

Highly involved fathers also contribute to increased mental dexterity in children, increased empathy, less stereotyped sex role beliefs and greater self-control.
Abramovitch, H. 1997. Images of the "Father" in The Role of the Father in Child Development. M.E. Lamb, Ed., New York: John Wiley & Sons.

When non-custodial fathers are highly involved with their children’s learning, the children are more likely to get A's at all grade levels.
National Center for Education Statistics. October 1997. Fathers’ Involvement in Their Children’s Schools; National Household Education Survey. NCES 98-091R2. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.

Nonresident father contact with children and involvement in their schools within the past year are associated with the same three factors: fathers paying child support; custodial mothers being more educated; and custodial homes not experiencing financial difficulties.
National Center for Education Statistics. October 1997. Fathers’ Involvement in Their Children’s Schools; National Household Education Survey. NCES 98-091R2. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.

High involvement at the early childhood level - frequency with which parents interact with their young children, such as how often they read, tell stories and sign and play with their children. These experiences contribute to children’s language and literacy development and transmit information and knowledge about people, places and things.
Bredekamp, S. and Copple, C. 1997. Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs. Washington, D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children

Reflecting on the old year, preparing for the new one

Here are a few take-away's from this school year:

1. Hire teacher leaders. We don't need a team with 1 leader, we need a team with ALL leaders, who can all lead a PLC, all guide a data analysis, all stand up for what's best for students. 
2. Parents: please, please, please make your kiddos read 20-30 minutes, EVERY DAY this summer. Their futures depend on it. 
3. I didn't do enough. I still don't think I memorized the name of every student. I wasn't able to attend very many of their personal after-school events. I could have been a little more patient with that certain 2nd grader. The list goes on and on...
4. I did a lot! It's no wonder I get sick the week after school gets out. My body can finally let its guard down. Meetings, hirings, evaluations, discipline, one classroom had a fire, several rooms flooded, starting dual immersion next year required a lot of time, teams struggling to be effective, a couple teachers required a lot of my time...
5. Data: I'm still struggling to create (or steal) a simple method of analyzing common formative assessments that results in two things: specific interventions/extensions for students based on the data and specific instructional interventions for those teachers whose students struggled.
6. Did I reach my social-emotional goals? I had a few: 
1. Ask one teacher a day "What did you learn about a student and what did you do about it?" No. There were several days when I didn't ask anyone this question. But after a while I would have teacher come to me and tell me the answer without me even asking. 
2. Tell at least 5 students a day: "I am so excited to see you!! You make our school better, did you know that?!" Maybe. I got pretty good at stopping kids in the hallway, placing my hands on both of their shoulders and asking them this. 
3. Support my teachers. Maybe, hard to assess. But I did have a lot more teachers in my office crying this year about non-work related issues. Could have just been a super-sucky  emotional year for some.
7. I tried to be there for my family more this year. Failed. It seemed like last year, despite being the first year as a principal, was less stressful. This year we had so many more meetings, so many more new issues that arose, that I really felt the stress this year. And I know there were many days I came home grouchy and tired and not ideal. Sure, I was home, but not quality time with dad/hubby. 

For next year:

• Data analysis protocol needs to be clear and implemented. This isn't for big data, this is for the 15-day cycles. This starts with my team leads knowing my expectations. 
• Be more intentional about supporting my new teachers. I will have 3 brand-new teachers, and a couple who are not new to teaching, but new to our district. Strong mentor teachers. Release time for training and peer observations. Individualized professional development. Frequent check-ins.
• Train ELL and LAP teachers to be instructional coaches. Instead of them focusing on their identified students, they can have time to strengthen teacher efficacy. More bang for the buck. 
• When I'm home, be home. Put away phone. Leave work at work.                                                       

How to avoid a project's demise...

Have you ever heard of performing a pre-mortem autopsy? We know a post-mortem happens after something has died and it is used to determine cause of death.

Little too late for the victim. 

A pre-mortem activity is where an "autopsy" is performed BEFORE a death occurs to create a plan to avoid actual failure. It's been around for more than decade or so from Gary Klein, a research psychologist, famous for pioneering in the field of naturalistic decision making.

In it's simplest forms, it makes total sense. When someone really smart explained it to me, it made even more sense.

I'll try to describe it in 6 easy steps:

1. Preparation: Get the team together, each with a few pieces of paper and pencil. Make sure that every person who has input with the project in the room.
2. Imagine the total, complete, embarrassing failure of the project: Explain to the team that a year from now, their current project bombed so horribly that you can't even make eye contact when passing in the hallway. #epicfailure
3. Generate Reasons for Failure: Every person takes three minutes to write down all the reasons why they think things went so wrong. If you have everyone possible there, you'll have many different perspectives. Once finished, have them eliminate those issues that you cannot control. You could even create a cemetery and put them there. :)
4. Consolidate the Lists: Go around the room and have each person share one idea with a facilitator recording on white board. Continue sharing until everyone has exhausted their lists.
5. Create a Plan: Pick 2 or 3 of the big ticket concerns.  Assign experts to oversee these big ticket concerns. Create a team plan to support each other to eliminate the problems before they become lethal. Schedule another time to generate ideas for avoiding or minimizing the other problems.
6. Periodically Review the List: Take the list out every couple of months for the team to assess and re-adjust as needed.

This could be a depressing experience. This can also cure some overconfidence. All share their concerns. All help create a plan. Starting with a huge failure in mind will open minds to identify issues that may have otherwise been ignored.