The Authority Podcast — Expert Insights and Fresh Ideas for Education Leaders

Brig Leane, former principal of Fruita Middle School in Colorado, has over 20 years of experience in education. He has been an assistant principal and has taught at the middle and high school levels in inner-city, suburban, and rural schools. He has also been an adjunct professor at Colorado Christian University. As a teacher, Brig learned the power of the PLC process firsthand, as his math team grew students more than any other team, in any grade, in any tested subject in his 22,000-student school district. Education is Brig’s second career, following his successful service as an officer in the US Coast Guard, having attained the rank of lieutenant commander. He graduated with honors from the United States Coast Guard Academy with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and served as an officer for many years on humanitarian missions around the nation. He was selected as a Troops-to-Teachers recipient and has a master’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Colorado Mesa University. How do I get my singletons to want to collaborate? What is a singleton? Someone who doesn’t have a natural collaborative partner. The three on-ramps for singletons; course-alike, content alike, and critical friend The power of common formative assessment - student achievement and improved teacher performance When a teacher team gets focused on the four critical questions - Collaboration vs. the focus on the four critical questions There’s only so much time to meet together, so we must set aside the time for teachers to find support in answering the 4 critical questions of learning. Understand the why of collaboration instead of isolation. Can’t ignore the how. They don’t have the time and support Support is not just about permission, but also about accountability. Preparation is essential. Isolation is the enemy of improvement REAL Criteria: Readiness: Does the learning develop student readiness for the next level of learning? Is it essential for success in the next unit, course, or grade level? Endurance: Does the learning have endurance? Do teachers expect students to retain the knowledge and skills over time as opposed to merely learning it for a test? Assessed: Do teachers assess the learning? Will teachers cover the learning on state testing or college entrance, military, or trade school tests? Leverage: Does the learning have leverage? Will proficiency in this standard help students in other areas of the curriculum and academic disciplines?