In Focus with ... Ellen Winstead
Ellen M. Winstead, is saying YES to leadership. She is the founding School Director of YES Prep West.
Ellen Winstead (second from right) and members of the YES Prep West faculty with Malcolm Gladwell (third from left), author of The Tipping Point and Outliers
As one of 19 aspiring principals in last year's Regional Principal Leadership Academy cohort, Ellen spent her internship year working closely with other YES Prep directors to plan the opening of the newest YES site, located in West Houston. She was engaged in all aspects of new school development including: recruiting students and staff, organizing the physical plant, ordering materials, and being the cheerleader for the school's success.
Ellen's path to School Director of YES Prep West began in 1995 when she became a Teach for America Corps Member. After serving as a classroom teacher for six years, she became an instructional consultant for middle school mathematics. Ellen's work for YES Prep has included the design of their new teacher training program, Teaching Excellence, where she wrote and delivered professional learning sessions for teachers, observed instruction, and provided feedback to teachers and school directors.
Ellen's professional experience, coupled with her A+ leadership growth and development, has prepared her to step into her new role. She will receive ongoing coaching and professional learning through monthly network meetings as part of Houston A+ Challenge's Leadership Academy.
Ellen's introduction to the YES Prep West Marvels faculty
Good morning, YES Prep West Marvels.
I am proud to be your school director. Proud to lead us in our first year of operation.
Instead of starting with the logistics, I want to begin this week by sharing with you the brutal facts that I am sure you’re familiar with.
1. Research shows that over HALF of African American and Hispanic 8th grade students in the US are still scoring BELOW the BASIC level in math.
2. In addition, high school dropout rates are not dropping. According to a study by the Gates Foundation, the high school drop-out rate in Houston is over 50%. Right here, in our city.
3. And now, college? We live in an age where having a college degree is practically a necessity to earning a decent living. The latest study shows that only 7% of low-income students in our country earn a college degree.
We cannot spend one more day waiting. And we cannot wait for someone else to fix this situation. Working for YES Prep West means that you accept your responsibility for playing a part in the solution to this program. Working for West means you will be providing students with the same educational opportunities as the students in the well to do suburbs. Our sole purpose, the reason we exist, is to erase this achievement gap.
How we will do this? What’s the number one thing that’s going to do this? What IS the greatest determinant of our students’ success?
Is it their socioeconomic level? Is it the quality of the building? Is it the funding levels of the schools? The size of the PTA? The number of computers? You get my point.
The single, greatest determinant of students’ success in school is THE QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION THEY RECEIVE FROM YOU. And THAT is where we will focus our energy, our materials, and our meetings -- on the quality of teaching in our classrooms.
We must have a set of beliefs that will carry West to the finish line, and there are 3 we’ll focus on:
Shared belief #1
1. We take ownership of our students’ results. When students aren’t doing well on tests, we don’t say, “But I taught it…” because all you will get back from me or from another staff member will be, “So! They didn’t learn it, so, what are you going to do now to make sure they learn it?”. Our measure of success will always be in student learning, not teacher teaching, and the only way we know we have been successful is by examining the results of student assessments. It doesn’t matter to me if you’ve taught something once, twice, or three times. What I will always ask you is, Did they learn it? And what approach will you take to reach the students who aren’t there YET? That is taking ownership of our students’ results.
Shared belief #2
2. We take ownership of student motivation. Each of you is talented in your content area. But I didn’t hire you solely on your content knowledge. Content knowledge is hugely important, but by itself, it will never lead to student achievement. EACH OF US must teach our students that intelligence is not something you are born with, intelligence is built through effort and hard work. Success comes to those to don’t give up, to those who work. It is your JOB to teach and re-teach this message through your content area. It is your job to keep your students motivated. To do this, we will really have to get to know our students to find out how to motivate them
Shared belief #3
(and the one that is the focus for the summer)
(and the one that is the focus for the summer)
We will always maintain high expectations for academics and behavior, no matter what our students face at home. You must have the resolve to be consistent, and stick to your work. You are the solid ground of tough love that our students need and will depend on. That means, when you say that a homework assignment is due on Monday, well guess what… it is due on Monday and when student doesn’t have it, you issue our hw detention that day. If you ask them to bring their textbook to class, then you thank those that do so and issue an organizational mark to those that do not. The minute you find yourself accepting excuses from the students, you have thrown in the towel. The minute you find yourself feeling bad for OUR students, you have essentially told yourself, and me, that you really don’t think our students can make it. Don’t ever let our students use home life as a crutch. Now don’t get me wrong, when students make bad decisions, like tell you they didn’t do their homework because they didn’t understand, you will have to talk them through the choices- they can call you on your school issued cell-phone; they can call up to 3 people in class for help; they can sit with you during breakfast to have you explain in person. But never, never, lower your expectations. Because to do that, is, the cruelest punishment you could give.
We own student achievement; we own student motivation, and we maintain our high expectations at all times.
These values will guide us to our goal of being an Exemplary campus in its first year of operation.
Thank you for joining YES Prep West and embracing the opportunity that lies in front of you.
