Beyond the Status Quo: Shift Focus and Drive Student Achievement
Shifting away from the status quo is essential if we truly want to see change in education, especially when it comes to student achievement. Change and learning must go hand in hand. Yet, we often find principals burdened with too many responsibilities, teachers still focused on content delivery, and leadership hired with the same mindset that perpetuates outdated practices. If we want different results, we have to make other choices.
Coaching Principals to Focus on Student Achievement
As school leaders, principals should focus their efforts where they can make the most impact. If the foundation is student achievement, then 20% of their time should be dedicated to this critical area. The Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule) demonstrates that focusing on the right 20% can drive 80% of the desired change. For principals, this means dedicating concentrated efforts toward strategies that directly influence student outcomes.
But here’s the disconnect: we ask principals to be "lead learners," yet we pile on administrative tasks that keep them from engaging deeply with the most important aspect of their work—improving student achievement. We need to reframe their focus from managing to leading with purpose. Coaching should help principals zero in on high-impact areas like instructional leadership, professional development for teachers, and creating a school culture centered on curiosity and learning.
From Teaching Content to Making Learning Comprehensible
Another significant shift that needs to happen is in how we approach teaching. Too often, we focus on how to teach content rather than how to make that content comprehensible and engaging for students. If we continue on this path, student achievement will remain stagnant, as it has for years. What if we flipped the focus? Instead of asking, "How can we teach this content better?" we should ask, "How can we help students learn in ways that make content meaningful to them?"
Teachers should be trained to help students connect with the material in a way that sparks curiosity, making learning an active process, not passive content absorption. This involves taking risks, moving beyond traditional models, and shifting toward teaching methods that encourage students to explore, question, and engage with the world around them.
Leadership with a Lens for Change
If we continue to hire leadership through the same lens that maintains the status quo, we cannot expect different outcomes. Stagnation in student achievement is a direct result of perpetuating the same old systems. To bring about real change, we need leaders who are willing to take risks, who understand that an industrialized, one-size-fits-all model of education is no longer relevant in today’s world.
We need leaders who prioritize student curiosity and engagement over standardized content delivery. Leaders who focus not on keeping the system running as it always has, but on how to create an environment where students are inspired to learn, where teachers are empowered to innovate, and where principals are focused on the right things—student growth and achievement.
The Path Forward
If we want to see 80% of change happen, we have to make student achievement the cornerstone of our efforts. Principals must be coached to focus on the highest-leverage activities that directly impact students. Teachers must be trained not just to deliver content, but to help students learn in ways that are meaningful and engaging. And as leaders, we must stop hiring based on maintaining the system and start looking for those who will lead us toward the future of education, where students’ curiosity is nurtured, and learning becomes a dynamic experience.
Change requires risk, but the greater risk is doing nothing and expecting different results. It’s time to shift from the same old system to one that truly prepares students for today’s world. As my dad often says, “Don’t be afraid”.
Nicole Teyechea, PhD
