MRVED Update - November 10, 2021

MRVED Business

MRVED Meetings

November 12, 2021 - Title III Teachers (Virtual)

November 18, 2021 - Teachers' Advisory Council and Principals' Council

November 19, 2021 - Title III Paraprofessionals

November 24, 2021 - Superintendents' Council

MELT Networking Facilitator Sign-Up

The MRVED is looking for people to be facilitators of networking sessions for MELT 2022. As a facilitator, you are not expected to be the expert or present on anything. Your job is to facilitate the meeting. Start and end the session on time and keep people positive. You will also have the ability to email the group prior to MELT to gather ideas and plan for the hour. Sign-up link is listed below.

NEW THIS YEAR: Networking facilitators will be paid a $100 stipend. Facilitators will also get priority registration for the MELT to ensure they get into the sessions they need and want.

Please sign-up by the end of the day November 19, 2021.

**Please note: Any networking group that does not have a facilitator, will NOT be held.**

MELT 2022 Networking Facilitator Sign-up

Resources

PBS Learning Media

PBS Learning Media is a great resource when looking for lessons & videos on a variety of topics. You can search by subject, grade level, or standard. Teachers have access to 1,000's of lessons and videos ranging from PreK to 12th grade. From Sid the Science kid to a Ken Burns documentary. From science, to reading to physical education. There is something here for everyone. There is so much in this database, you could get lost for hours searching. Everything PBS does is of high quality. Check it out today!

Professional Learning

2021 Learning Forward Annual Conference

One positive aspect to living in a COVID world is the ability to tap into high quality workshops virtually. The 2021 Learning Forward Annual Conference will be virtual this year December 5-7, 2021. Learning Forward has keynote and breakout sessions from some of the best & top minds in education. Breakout sessions from people like Thomas Guskey, Michael Fullan, and Jim Knight are just some of the few you can have access to. Registration is roughly $200 per day. Considering it would cost a district around $2000 per person to send someone to a National conference, $200 is a great deal. Registration for the conference can be found on the conference homepage linked above. If you don't feel you can make the conference, but want to see what people are saying about it, follow along on Twitter with #LearnFwd21.

Book Study

The Power of Positive Leadership - Chapters 7 & 8

I don't know about you, but reading this book a 2nd time has given me the ability to see so many things I didn't catch the first time. If this is your first time through the book, I highly suggest reading it a 2nd time with a pencil and highlighter in hand and marking up the book. If you don't have The Power of Positive Leadership by Jon Gordon yet, you won't be disappointed! It's a quick read, and you will have plenty of time to get caught up to where we are.

Chapter 7 is on uniting people and chapter 8 is all about relationships. I've had one thing stick with me throughout the reading of these two chapters. Jon Gordon says, "You can be the smartest person in the room, but if you fail to connect with others you will fail as a leader" (Gordon, 89). You can own all the businesses you want, but if you don't make connections & build relationships with the people, eventually you will have nothing. Many of the leaders that fail to connect with people are also the same people that put themselves before the team. Gordon calls it the "disease of me" (Gordon, 90) and it infects everyone in the organization. These type of "leaders" are easy to spot. They gloat about what they have, they are more concerned about money and fame, others in the organization don't like to be around them, & they often see themselves as great leaders.

Connection is so important, Jon Gordon says, "The more connected you are, the more committed you become" (Gordon, 91). If you, as a leader are connected to your people, they feel connected to the organization, and therefore will be committed to the mission and vision of the organization. Bottom line is that people are committed and loyal to other people. I'm not committed and loyal to a brand or organization...I'm loyal to my leader. We see this in action when a leader moves on in an organization and is replaced by someone that might have a different vision. Often times we see other people choose to leave the organization when the leader goes.

Chapter 8 is about relationships. As educators we know full-well the importance of relationships. Jon Gordon's first couple sentences of this chapter really resonated with me, "The first step in uniting people and being a leader is not saying, "Follow me." It's being someone your team wants to follow" (Gordon, 101). He then goes on to say, "...if you are not someone people want to follow, they are not getting on your bus. People follow the leader first and their vision second" (Gordon, 101). Reflecting back on my own life, I have had leaders in my life say "follow me", and I've thought to myself, "absolutely not!". Why is that? I don't trust you? I don't see your vision? You don't care if I'm there or not?

What does that tell us? A leader is someone that has earned the trust of the people they lead. They truly care for people. And they can clearly articulate their vision. To earn the trust of people, they truly need to feel you care for their well-being. So often I hear the phrase, "everyone is replaceable". Yes, this statement is true. However, why would I say that if I truly cared for you and valued you as an employee and individual. If people can feel you care for them, trust can be built. The feelings need to be genuine and real.

The last part of this chapter that really sunk in for me was the section on service. Gordon says, "A team feels a leader's commitment when the leader takes the time to serve them" (Gordon, 119). This is so true! I had a conversation with someone recently and the comment was, "He needs to become the president of the company so people can start serving him." I was appalled by this comment, even before reading this chapter. Getting a promotion shouldn't mean less work and less service, it should actually be more! It's the disease of me versus we. I'm curious to see how long this person either stays in power, or the company survives.

Think About:

1. Have you ever had a leader with the "disease of me"? How did that make you feel?

2. Can you name an example of a leader that really values relationships?