Long Live the Amoeba

This past week our Instructional Leadership Team was enjoying some outstanding staff development working on our collaborative culture, when we were grilled by the facilitator who finally described our school as amoeba-like, mostly because we are resistant to the linear, one focus for all, approach that is espoused by our district because of their work with Focus on Results. While our facilitator is a little concerned that we are like an amoeba because we are not following a clearly defined path. My reaction is that I kind of like the amoeba tag, because at least it's a living organism. We are actually moving forward on several different fronts at once, and there certainly is the real risk, that we won't become excellent at any of them if we continue down this path. However, after reflecting on this the past couple days, I think we are acting in a way that is consistent with a learning community. We are working on a consistent literacy assessment calendar, processes for analyzing data, the gradual release of responsibility instructional model, and reading instruction. You tell me, which one should we put off until tomorrow?