“Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it.” - Rene Descartes

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We love SMART goals in education - they can really help us drive goal development in a routine way. And I’m all about using a protocol to guide or facilitate group discussions and thinking. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. (Learn more about SMART goals in this article) Thinking about goals within this framework makes a lot of sense - they help us be clear, understand how we are measuring success, consider what’s possible and reasonable, and identify a timeline for achieving this goal. When we consider the potential for this framework, it makes sense that we lean on it to develop our educational goals.

Lets look at an example SMART goal and check whether is checks all of the boxes:

Sample SMART goal: Apple Elementary students in grades K-5 will increase phonics proficiency (on or above grade level) as measured by the iReady Diagnostic from 28% to 50% in the spring of 2024.

• Specific: Who: K-5 students; What: increase phonics proficiency; Where: Apple Elementary; When: Spring 2024
• Measurable: from 28% to 50% proficient as measured by the iReady Diagnostic
• Achievable: Possibly.
• Realistic: Possibly.
• Time-bound: Spring 2024

At first glance, this SMART goal checks all of the boxes (and I would say is a pretty typical year-long goal for a school). But when I unpacked this sample SMART goal, I couldn’t confidently say that it was achievable or realistic because I need more context to determine whether it meets those indicators.

What other information do I need to determine whether this goal is achievable and realistic? How might each Apple Elementary teacher’s context change whether the goal is actually feasible for them, their students, and therefore the school? Let’s consider some other information that informs the feasibility of this goal.

We need to know which students contributed to the baseline proficiency of 28%. Let’s pretend that there are 100 students at Apple Elementary, meaning 28 of them demonstrate phonics proficiency at the baseline. In which grade levels are these 28 students?

• If the majority of proficient students were previously in 5th grade at the time of the baseline, will they even be attending Apple Elementary to contribute to the 2024 proficiency goal? This might now mean that we are actually moving from 0% to 50% in this year’s goal - that changes things.
• If the students are evenly distributed across grade levels, that means that approximately 4-5 students in each grade level demonstrate phonics proficiency. This means we need to work on differentiating our core instruction to support the phonics goal - which might change our original course of action.
• If the majority of proficient students are in grades K-2, does this mean that last year’s course of action is working? If we implemented phonics instruction as part of our core curriculum in grades K-2, it is possible this affirms the work happening there. Therefore, we might determine how to strengthen actions already in place or adjust our core or intervention instruction for students in grades 3-5?

We need to know what other initiatives are taking place at Apple Elementary and their phases of implementation.

• At what phases of implementation is the literacy curriculum (or lack thereof)? For example, if a curriculum was implemented in 2023, it was in the initial implementation phase that contributed to the 28% proficiency. Was this for all of K-5? Or a select number of grade levels?
• At what phase of implementation is using iReady Diagnostics? Is this a new platform that teachers and students will need to learn to navigate or has it been in use for at least one year? How well do teachers know and understand reading the data reports provided in this system to inform instruction and respond in ways that build students’ proficiency?
• What other platforms, curricula, or resources are being introduced at Apple Elementary? Are there new expectations for instructional approaches or professional development experiences this year? The number of change factors teachers are navigating will impact their readiness to meet this goal.

We need to consider each teacher’s context to determine their readiness for meeting this goal and the personalized support to design at Apple Elementary.

• Are any of the teachers new to Apple Elementary? Regardless of their years of experience, teachers new to Apple Elementary will be figuring out the inner workings of how things are done, meeting new people and a community, and possibly learning new curricular resources. This will impact how they meet this goal.
• Are any of the teachers beginning teachers? Beginning teachers will be focused on developing their skills in many areas in addition to focusing on the phonics instruction needed to meet this goal. With an abundance of focus areas, working on all of them could prove overwhelming. It is possible this will impact the level to which the beginning teacher can meet this goal.
• What is each teacher’s knowledge level with foundational skills? Do they have a deep understanding of the skills that lead to phonics proficiency? The level of knowledge will impact each teacher’s ability to work with students, even with a provided curriculum, and will impact meeting this goal.

All of these questions and examples explain just how subjective the “achievable and realistic” parts of SMART goals are, even if at first glance they meet the criteria. When we include the fact that many schools and districts have multiple subject area goals in addition to numerous initiatives, what is actually feasible will change. Taking time to reflect on our goals within our context to develop personalized action plans will move us closer to achievable and realistic; doing so may actually help us reach those SMART goals.

Leadership Moves:

1. Develop SMART goals that guide your school improvement actions.
2. Unpack your SMART goals within your given context.
3. Design personalized action plans to meet your SMART goals.

What does this mean for me?

Developing SMART goals to guide school improvement efforts are a regular expectation of school leaders. However, without considering our specific contexts and the people working to meet those goals, we might be missing important information that determines actions that make those goals feasible. While those SMART goals provide direction and destination, it is possible that each of our teachers and classes will need a personalized pathway to help us arrive at the destination. As you develop your goals to guide the 2024-2025 school year, take time to consider how you are supporting each pathway towards success.

Revolution Resources

​​Coaching System Assessment Download the PDF below ​LRC Coaching System Assessment PDF - Final.pdf​ Watch the February workshop about this resource! ​

Literacy System Assessment Download the PDF below ​LRC Literacy System Assessment PDF - Final.pdf​ Watch the webinar about this resource below! ​

Listen, Linda a new Spotify playlist I've collected all of my podcast guest appearances in one place. Make sure to follow along for new episodes as they come out! Listen here

Where have we been?

Visiting Plymouth, Michigan (again) I joined Plymouth-Canton Community Schools for another day of professional learning. Teachers worked with The Reading Comprehension Blueprint Activity book by Nancy Hennessy and Julia Salamone, which will serve as a resource for reading comprehension instruction this coming year. We connected this work to their curriculum work and how it can support differentiated small group instruction. In the picture you can see us tabbing our books for easy reference throughout the year. ​ Sidenote: Make use of the space you have! We turned the stage into a standing desk which worked for tabbing our books but also lesson planning practice!

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New Podcast Episode: The Science of Reading with Linda Rhyne I had the pleasure of talking with Gene Tavernetti, host of Better Teaching: Only Stuff That Works. Gene asked me questions that covered the intersection of my two favorite things: literacy and instructional coaching! Listen to the episode on his website here or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Let's Work Together

I'm thrilled to be working with some new districts and continue with current clients in the upcoming year! Having the opportunity to expand my reach and continue this work brings me so much joy.

I have the capacity to offer professional development opportunities or smaller scale ongoing work next year. If literacy or coaching is part of your strategic plan or goals, let’s work together to design tailored support for Spring 2025 or the 2025-2026 school year. Click here to sync our calendars for a conversation.

One on one support for school leaders

Mojdeh Harlan is moving into a new principal role at Smithfield Elementary in Charlotte, NC. She is living the phrase "walk the talk."

Learn more about our services for leaders at this link. Mojdeh meets with each applicant for a "gain clarity" call that allows you the space to share your needs. Apply now to set up this call.

Sharing the work of others

Gretchen Bridgers of Always a Lesson is hosting another cohort for her Teacher Leader Mastermind! Learn more about it here.

Last month, I was on a podcast with Becca Silver of The Whole Educator. Here is more information about working with her! Coaches and leaders, tired of top-down, task-centered approaches that leave educators feeling burnt out, disengaged and returning back to their old ways? We believe in centering our educators’ humanity at the heart of coaching and leadership. By understanding the unique mindsets and motivations of teachers, we not only initiate change, but cause sustained change that boosts job satisfaction and retention. The Whole Educator's professional developments specialize in breaking through resistance and building buy-in with educators implementing new initiatives, causing engagement in the change. Our coaching frameworks grow mutual engagement in coaching, build trust and relationships (even with frustrating behaviors), help us understand and shift adult mindsets, integrate effective and powerful coaching conversations into very busy schedules and help all stakeholders focus on what's important. Check out our podcast, Coaching the Whole Educator, as well as our services at www.thewholeeducator.com!

Where can we connect? Bold font shows events at which I'm presenting. 7/9 - 7/10 - Get Engaged Coaching Con | Learn more here​ 10/8 - 10/10 The Reading League 9th Annual Conference | Learn more here​ ​ Check out my calendar