I have had the opportunity of consulting with the Manheim Central School District in Pennsylvania over the past several years. They have a district focus on their graduates being Difference Makers, which they define as: Innovators Reflective Learners Collaborators Critical Thinkers Responsible Citizens For the past two years, they have chosen one of these elements […]

Collective teacher efficacy, when a staff of teachers believe that together they can inspire growth and change in their students, has the greatest impact on student achievement—even higher than factors like teacher-student relationships, home environment, or parental involvement (John Hattie). Collective teacher efficacy is unlikely to develop without a leadership plan for creating the environment […]

In this week’s episode of the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast, Steve ponders “Team or Franchise?” Listen as Steve ponders the continuum of teachers working as individuals to teachers working as teams to teachers working as franchises. Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or visit BarkleyPD.com to find new […]

A blog on the Gates’ Foundation website explores 4 Ways that Leadership Teams Create Conditions for Success in Schools.  Here are the four with some of my thoughts and observations: #1 Strong leadership teams enable teachers to work with their peers and focus on improvement rather than evaluation I have written and spoken often about the […]

In the third episode of the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast, Steve ponders “Warm Demanders.” Listen as Steve examines the work of Judith Kleinfeld, who observed teachers who were having the greatest success in producing student learning and labeled them “warm demanders.” Subscribe to the Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast on iTunes or […]

Podcast Episode 1: The Importance of a Collaborative School Culture We are excited to announce the first episode of the new Steve Barkley Ponders Out Loud podcast, now available for free through the iTunes Store. In the first episode, Steve ponders “The Importance of a Collaborative School Culture.” In each episode of the Ponders Out […]