The New Stupid- Fredrick Hess, Educational Leadership

Instructional decisions and problem solving used to be done without the use of data. Now we have tons of data. This article explains what we can and cannot do with data. As connected with our text; data can help us identify problems and then find solutions. It can also tell us if there is a problem in the first place.
Data can drive decision making but it can also be used to justify poor decisions. Just because we have data doesn’t mean we don’t have to make good and thoughtful decisions.
Hess was meeting with groups of superintendents that were ready to make data-driven decisions. Their data showed that higher income schools were getting the most effective teachers and therefore getting the best results. These superintendents immediately began the plan to move these more effective teachers to the lower-performing schools. These superintendents had good intentions but Hess asked some hard questions. Although the data shows that the higher-performing schools had the best teachers, you still have a plethora of questions that you need to ask before you consider decisions made based on that data. Two questions asked were; “Can we be confident that teachers who are effective in their current classrooms would be equally effective elsewhere? What effect would shifting teachers to different schools have on the likelihood that teachers would remain in the district?” If a teacher is good somewhere, we might not want to change that. If the risk of moving a teacher is losing a teacher, is that worth it?
What decisions can be made from the data available? As a leader, you cannot create problems that don’t exist. You cannot suggest solutions without considering some of the other questions that a topic might uncover.
Hess says that using test scores alone to make management decisions is bad practice. He compares it to a CEO using the daily stock price to run a company. It’s just a snapshot and not an indicator to make important decisions on.
The moral of the article is that data is a great thing, it helps us make decisions in the most scientific way possible but it cannot answer all questions. For that, we still need to ask the hard questions.

Spaulding Freshmen Told to Aim High- Foster's Article

http://fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090904/GJCOMMUNITY_01/709049890#

This article outlines the importance of a principals affect on a school. John Shea told the incoming freshmen this year that the most important thing they can do this year is "Take care of each other." Additionally, he discussed aiming high this year and all through-out high school. Each freshman got to meet the principal and begin to know what his vision is to them. Every good principal has a vision and it must be known. This freshmen orientation provided an avenue for that.

This also illustrates the importance of involving the media in a positive way. This article sends a message to the parents of Rochester about the schools values, the importance of caring for each other and the importance of aiming high.

Did you ever wonder? Youtube video link

This a thought-provoking video I found while poking around for articles.
Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR2HrHXSuYM&feature=player_embedded#

$50,000 claim filed over girl's time-out in school from jsonline.com

http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/40036922.html

A school district was sued for $50,000 because teachers put a girl in time-out. While in a time-out room, the student hyperventilated and got nauseous. There were also allegations that the teachers allowed other students to assault this girl in class.

Legal aspects:
In this case a principal would want to know the district or school policy on time out and if there are any state laws prohibiting time out. I don't imagine that there are because time out can be an effective tool at times for de-escalating a student. A principal should know if the students was unsupervised, or in a small closed room, or if the punishment was done out of anger when considering actions against a teacher.

Community aspects:
This article was published in the local paper and there's bound to be both outrage at the school and support for the school. If editorials, parent calls, or public outcry were happening, the superintendent could consider holding an open forum to discuss these issues with the public.