Administrator Resources
Locomotive Leadership - An Introduction
What role do school leaders play in the success of a Full-Circle Learning program? Read this section to find out. Next, turn to the 11-Month Staff Development Program. (If you have not participated in a Full-Circle Learning workshop recently, return to the Trainers' secion and present the Refresher Course to your school leadership.)
11-Month Staff Development Plan
How can the administration and mentor teachers follow up once a school has received the Full-Circle Learning training? This plan offers a pathway to ensuring that each teacher can practice mastering the many strategies they have learned, to work together toward personal, collegial, student and community transformation goals.
13-S Template
When braintorming a learning unit, teachers write key words to integrate strategies, concepts and content that fuse character education, academics, conflict resolution, the arts and service under one theme. Present this tool, along with the pacing guide templates, during the summer planning session to teachers who have already undergone a thorough Full-Circle Learning training.
Habits-of-Heart Homework
Early learners through the primary grades benefit when home and school simultaneously reinforce the same character strength or social skill. Because each learning unit focuses on just one of 60 habits-of-heart, students gain a nuanced vocabulary of its many expressions at home, at school, in the community and on the world stage, starting in early life and extending through their Full-Circle Learning experience.
Mural and Oral Presentation Rubric
Students need to know that you value the process of working together and applying the habits-of-heart while learning the content, practicing the skills and implmenting a service. Use this example in the staff development meeting where teachers create their own rubrics.
Evaluating Our Mental Models
Unity may prove one of the greatest factors in your school's effectiveness in achieving its vision. How does the staff work together collectively to share opinions, make decisions, implement strategies and share challenges as well as successes? While much more extensive workshops are available, a few quick exercises may prove helpful.
Restorative Justice Pledge
Educators can adapt this tool for any age (and deliver it orally for not-yet-literate students) when an infraction would normally require "a visit to the principal's office" and/or a behavior contract. The facilitating teacher, leader or counselor only momentarily asks them to identify the impact of a negative action on others. The facilitator spends the remaining time encouraging the student to consider what specific actions could create an opposite, positive effect -- and then helping the student take steps to create that positive impact, thus reversing the injustice they committed and shifting them increasingly toward an altruistic identity rather than cementing negative self-stereotypes and behaviors. The tool has saved some students from having a permanent mark on their record and has helped many reenvision their role in aggressive, dishonest, disrespectful or bullying situations.
For annual staff development: Before the school year begins, evolved FCL teachers use backwards planning to correlate themes with yearlong academic learning goals
This template is useful in the annual preparatory workshop
Learning leaders apply integrated assessments strategies regularly in staff meetings
Understanding how to encourage reflection elicits more effective assessment and schoolwide progress
Every classroom prepares for an event that both documents and advances the school’s vision.
Helps schools gather input about the effectiveness of their teaching strategies, plans and follow-through
Helps teachers and students assess whether they achieved unit goals or semester goals