Canadian educator, Dr Lyn Sharratt, was once named as one of the 18 women every K-12 educator should know.
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In Forbes this week to work with leadership staff from Catholic Schools across the Wilcannia-Forbes Diocese, Dr Sharratt said, “Children have the same needs wherever they are in the world and it is important to me that no matter where they are, all children need to learn how to read.”
We asked Dr Sharratt, what does it mean to a student’s future to not achieve standard in the very earliest years? Can they recover from this start?
“The short answer is that failing to meet expectation in the early years, failing to read by the end of year one is a sentence to a less than successful adult life. The data proves it. The remedy is high-yield assessment and instruction strategies used in every classroom to reverse the trend for every individual student. Importantly, in this global economy which is becoming more competitive, the suggested focus on assessment and instruction, and leadership creating ownership by all staff for all students can improve the probabilities that the entire national economy will be positively impacted as these children move into jobs or professions where the ability to read and to think critically will be required.” Dr Sharratt said.
Principal of St Laurence’s, Paula Leadbitter, along with members of her school’s leadership team, Donna Pavey, Kath Sweeney, and Liz Horan were amazed at Dr Sharratt’s success in school systems across the world.
“It has been an honour to meet and workshop with Lyn. I had read her book, but working with her personally has been an inspiration. As a team we are most keen to continue in our work with putting faces to the data.” Paula said.
Catholic Education Office (CEO) Assistant Director of Education Services, Mrs Mary-Ellen Dempsey said, “True to her collaborative leadership style, Dr Sharratt will maintain contact with our school teams with whom she has been working, via regularly scheduled video teleconferences. In this way Lyn and her associates also continue to learn from us the successes and new concerns we identify along the way,” she said.
Co-author of the book, “Putting FACES on the Data – What Great Leaders Do,” Dr Sharratt recognizes that using data is not that easy for most people.
“Assessment data can bury you, confuse you, or give you a focused direction. Great leaders know how to effectively use data for system and classroom improvement – ultimately to reach and make a difference for every student in every classroom,” she said.
“Putting FACES on the Data – What Great Leaders Do” takes the approach that setting high standards demands follow-up in ongoing assessment that informs daily instruction in all classrooms. Further, the book demonstrates in detail how developing a common language across a system and sharing all students’ progress with all teachers by all leaders, ownership of students’ increased achievement becomes attainable, doable and sustainable.”
While in Forbes Dr Sharratt presented a workshop with school staff, and strategized with the CEO leadership team on ways to increase all students’ achievement and to help guide further improvement.
What are the elements of a quality program? “As FACES outlines, it starts with very good first instruction, is supported by supportive and escalating levels of intervention with individual students and assistance for teachers who need more ideas, and involves leadership strategies to share and own all student results,” Dr Sharratt explained.
Dr Sharratt taught elementary and secondary school students, in regular and special-needs classrooms for 22 years, before beginning her career in educational administration where she was Associate Professor at York University’s Faculty of Education. In 1996 she earned her doctorate from Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/University of Toronto (OISE/UT). From 2002 until 2008, she served as Superintendent of Curriculum and Instructional Services for YRDSB – a district comprised then of 197 schools, 117,000+ students and 8,800 teachers.
From this real world practitioner experience, Dr Sharratt draws content which when viewed through the eyes of an academic, becomes very useful strategic information – not just, “flavour of the month”.
