Houston A+ Challenge Summer Institute XII
How should members of each “leading for learning” team be chosen?
When identifying your “leading for learning” team for this Institute, please consider not only your organization's present needs, but also individual and organizational potential.
Each team must have a minimum of five members and a maximum of twelve members. Your team should include:
- Either “named” leaders or persons who are recognized as leaders by their peers.
Don't automatically assume that all members of the current “leadership team” of administrators must be part of the “leading for learning” team. Informal leaders are important, too -- including parents, community partners, university partners, and others who are already recognized as leaders.
- Representation of all components of the organization.
While 12 people might not represent every separate department of a large high school, think about each member as potentially leading a subset of other leaders and groups.
- Individuals who are interested in and commited to moving the organization forward on the path it has already begun.
This experience is not designed to convince or persuade someone who is resistant to change — it is for those members of the organization who are already on the path but may need more skills and support.
- Individuals who have a long-term commitment to the organization
No one can be absolutely sure where they will be five years from now, but team members should have at least good faith intentions of remaining with the organization. Similarly, staff members who are scheduled for retirement within the next year should probably consider participating and supporting the “leading for learning” team “back home,” rather than being considered part of the core team long-term. Teams will be allowed to replace individual members who have left the organization in subsequent years.
- Individuals who are willing to be "leaders of leaders."
Each member of the core “leading for learning” team must be willing to learn to lead other leaders and groups in the organization who are not part of the core team. Part of the plan for team learning is to help individuals learn skills that they can use in turn with others.
This Institute will be open only to organizational leadership teams—no individual registrations will be accepted.
Houston A+ Challenge's first summer institutes were created specifically for school teams, and all of the activities and learning were designed with the expectation that teams would come together, learn together, and leave with a commitment to continue their learning and responsibilities as change agents for their schools.
Beginning with the 12th summer institute this year, we are returning to our original mission of serving teams, not only from individual school campuses, but from a variety of workplace settings — schools, district central office departments, universities, and other educational organizations.
This Institute will be the kick-off for an on-going, multi-year process — teams will be asked for a long-term commitment to learning.
We plan to continue our theme of leadership forward in subsequent years and to offer not only the summer institute but also:
- Action labs and speakers during the year
- A structure for peer support
- Opportunities for on-site leadership coaching
- Opportunities for teams to become certified “leading for learning” teams.
Future summer institutes will highlight the accomplishments and growth of the participating teams and provide new opportunities to deepen team members' learning. At the end of this year's institute, teams will be surveyed about their interest in and commitment to this follow-up participation.
