Transition to Teaching: Collaboration
and Innovation in Education
By Stanley S. Litow, Vice President, Corporate Community Relations, and President, IBM International Foundation

The importance of collaboration in education has long been acknowledged. We know that schools can't do the hard work of educating children on their own. As former Deputy Chancellor for Operations and Chief Operating Officer of the New York City Board of Education and now in my role as Vice President of IBM Corporate Community Relations and President of the IBM International Foundation, I know full well the importance of businesses and community organizations working together with schools to improve student learning.

But while collaboration is key, innovation in every aspect of schooling has become critical. If you talk to our most successful business and community leaders, you will learn that they have few priorities higher than innovation. At IBM for example, "Innovation that matters for our company and for the world" is one of our core values; we work to put this value into action every day to remain competitive as we create new technologies and services that make a difference for our customers around the globe.
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Successful Leaders Value Diverse Views
Valerie Woodruff,
Secretary of Education,
Delaware Department of Education

Education leaders occupy a unique position and must exercise the responsibility and authority that comes with the position wisely. There is no greater responsibility than leading a community toward a vision for teaching and learning that will ensure the success of all children. The challenge is in building strong consensus not just on the goal of raising student achievement but also on the methodology of meeting the goal and of measuring progress toward it. Bringing varying points of view together, listening carefully to those points of view, and weighing what actions to take are important steps.

Education is a people centered enterprise, and the people who are invested in education must be valued; however, the leader cannot satisfy all parties, nor should he or she try to do that. By trying to satisfy all, the leader satisfies no one and appears weak and indecisive. By taking action without consideration of the views of others, the leader is seen as autocratic and insensitive...
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Leadership, Change, and Technology
By Dr. Scott McLeod, Assistant Professor, Educational Policy and Administration, University of Minnesota

As Co-Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE) at the University of Minnesota, I have an inherent interest in technology solutions that can be used to facilitate effective leadership in elementary and secondary schools. The IBM Change Toolkit is an important tool for us, one that we have used for several years because of its powerful capabilities and ease of use for practicing school leaders.
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Change Toolkit Tool of the Month
By Heidi Kraemer, Change Toolkit Project Manager and IBM Corporate Community Relations manager

Working With People: Understanding Resistance to Change
It's almost impossible to talk about change without hearing people say "everyone hates change" or "people always resist change." Is this really always the case? People change all the time - jobs, where they live, or even just going on vacation. So why does change in a professional environment (schools or otherwise) always seem to meet with such resistance? The Working with People: Understanding Resistance to Change tool uncovers the rational reasons that people resist change, and gives you as a change leader the tools and skills you need to successfully overcome resistance to change. Some of the top 10 reasons for resistance to change are: Surprise, Surprise! Excess Uncertainty; Loss of Control; and We've Seen This Before. Want to learn more? Go to the Change Toolkit website!




How do I find this tool?
1. Log in to the Change Toolkit website .
2. Move your mouse to 'Get Tools' and click on 'Change Fundamentals.'
3. Click on 'Working with People: Understanding Resistance to Change.'
4. Click on the 'Background' tab.

Leadership pulse check
A monthly poll of the readership of the Education Leadership Newsletter

This Month's Poll:
AOL users, please click here to complete and submit your survey. If you are using Microsoft Outlook, you MUST open the message to complete the survey.

1. I make use of the CTK site:
 

Yes, my email is: ______________________________

Last Month's Poll:
Am I leading on my own? In my current leadership role, I:

	33%	Is committed to and has a personal stake in the success of the reforms.
	17%	Has the skills to help the reforms succeed.
	17%	Understands the objectives of the reforms.
	17%	Works well with one another.
	17%	Others