Episode # 416: Kurtis Hewson
https://outofthetrenches.podbean.com/e/episode-416-kurtis-hewson/
Kurtis Hewson is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, author and professional learning facilitator. In addition to being an award-winning teacher, vice-principal, and principal, he has also served as faculty at the post-secondary level. He is the co-founder of Jigsaw Learning, a co-author of the text Collaborative Response: Three Foundational Components That Transform How We Respond to the Needs of Learners (Corwin, 2022), and currently works with districts and schools nationally and internationally establishing Collaborative Response frameworks and interacting with thousands of educators annually.
Trench story: feeling overwhelmed w/ to-do list when you have priorities, it affects your sleep, relationships. Forced him to narrow down the focus. What are things we can let go, prioritize. It’s hard to do as educators. How do you prioritize w/ Lorna? He lays out the core tasks. He asks what is the one thing I want to accomplish today? Things that are important, find time in your calendar. In his role, it’s OK saying no to opportunities.
New book coming soon: (collaborative team meetings working title), will be self-published. Collaborative Team Meetings, the Missing Piece that Connects MTSS: focused on a powerful meeting structure known as the collaborative team meeting. It was originally about what they found out in schools. 4 lays of teams & the impact it has. It’s part of the Collaborative Response Framework. It’s a companion to 1st book. This book is the engine. How do you structure teams f.ex. in a HS. They talk about 4 layers. A lot of schools have 3 layers, collaborative planning- t’s in same dept or grade level. Look at instruction that impacts all students. Exists w/in first layer. Look at gaps w/ in instruction. 3rd layer- school support layer- most MTSS structures exist there. Specialists are involved. Incl. a family support liaison. Often teachers not in the convo, there were convos around t. coaching. 4th layer- case consult- 1 student is on the agenda. Based om complexity, crisis. Could involve ppl from external agencies. Highly reactive meetings. In his school- mtg every 3-5 wks bridging the 2 for a pro-active conversation. That bridges PLC & MTSS work. How to bridge the 2? 1x/month- teams will shift to a collaborative team mtg. APs, MTSS coordinator, etc, diversity of thought. They can be mixed teams w/ multiple subject disciplines. There is a pre-mtg organizer. A student to celebrate & I student to discuss. Have roles such as timekeeper, etc. Facilitator will ask what teacher did to lead to success. You’re unpacking your prof toolboxes in front of others. It builds high degrees of collective efficacy. Second part of mtg- you discuss key issue w/ a student. Don’t say their name, just mention issue. It can be difficult to narrow down the issue. Ask team members to note the name of kid silently. Set a timer & brainstorm what could be done to help w/ on task stamina. You’re just exploring possibilities. No one is allowed to say “I don’t think that would work”. What’s 1 thing you’d like to try, then say the name of student. That is a solutions-focused process that’s action-oriented. It’s for the MTSS coordinator to offer resources/strategies. Less & less st’s are on Tier 2 then. Work through 3-5 key issues. Classroom teachers then stretch their thinking. They may ask AP or MTSS Coordinator for help. Yesterday he walked out w/ strategies he hadn’t heard about before. The school he was in yesterday has done those mtg for couple yrs. It’s safe for t’s to say “I’m tapped out & don’t know what to do”. Every person is an expert- but every person is a team member. You walk away w/ resources you could give teachers. Add this on- do it 1 out of every 4 PLC mtgs. If 5 t’s meet in PLC. An admin, counselor, MTSS coordinator comes & joins.
Get a free starter kit at http://collaborativeteammeeting.com links to the book- role cards, clip of a mtg to watch. Companion website to book.
what you can offer districts for late summer, early fall: they do instructor workshops, districts have them work w/ cohorts of schools. They model the collab team mtg, observes, offer fdb. It’s not work you finish w/ a 1 day workshop. 4 return dates w/ in the course of the year.
Out of everything: in schools, we have to adopt “Ready, Fire, Aim” mentality. You put the start of a plan in place, fire. Intention isn’t to get it perfect. You will adjust as you go on. You may get overwhelmed w/ collab team mtg.
Where can ppl find you online: Twitter/X: @hewsonk27
FB: https://www.facebook.com/JigsawLearningAB/
Website: https://jigswawlearning.ca
View this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/B3IbZkvtm9E