This has been adapted from article published by Washington State’s Mastery-Based Learning Collaborative.
When I was working with WA’s Mastery-Based Collaborative I had the opportunity to speak with Michael Velasquez, finishing his 17th year as Principal of Avanti High School, on the topic of school 
leadership. Much to my surprise, the conversation repeatedly circled back around to school culture. For the first time, I began to understand how the culture of a school is an extension of school leadership. It can either be a powerful force, or, left untended, can undermine a principal’s best efforts. Below are highlights of our conversation.
What was your career path to leading Avanti?
I never intended to be a principal. I started as a high school Social Studies teacher and soccer coach. Over the next 13 years I was encouraged by leadership to take on additional administrative roles in the Tumwater School District. I was also encouraged by leadership to consider administration as a next step in my career. Once I made that choice, I finished my Principal’s program and was hired at Avanti High School. My first year at Avanti was about listening and learning about the existing culture of the school. It was a time to learn what the staff and students loved about the school and what they wanted changed. A vision for the school began to develop from this early foundation. As a new Principal, I recognized that I needed to connect with experienced like minded leaders. My career path took a turn when I discovered the Coalition of Essential Schools at their annual Fall Forum conference.
I had always leaned toward constructivism in which students learn by doing. When I read the Coalition’s 10 Common Principles and met other like-minded educators I found my home. I threw myself into learning as much as I could. I devoured Ted Sizer’s Horace’s Compromise and met people like Deborah Meier and Linda Darling-Hammond. Eventually I became principal of Avanti High School. As you can imagine, Avanti’s guiding principles are based on the 10 Common Principles.
How would you describe your leadership style?
My leadership style is highly influenced by my years as a soccer coach. The most important lesson that I learned as a coach is that it’s important to put people in positions and circumstances where they can be successful and thrive. That’s what coaches do and that’s what I try to do as a leader.
Two experiences taught me what kind of leader I didn’t want to be. First, my experience as a retail manager during college helped me understand that I wanted to be human-centered, not transactional. Second, an experience in a district using site-based decision-making taught me that I didn’t want to be hierarchical. I knew that I didn’t want to be that kind of principal that espoused shared decision-making but still maintained unilateral control.
At Avanti I’ve developed a leadership style that is democratic and rooted in relationships. I believe that the best decisions are produced when the people impacted by decisions are part of those decisions. I also believe you need to be in relationships with the people you lead, manage, and coach.
A third part of my leadership style is situational. I prefer to lead by building consensus, but sometimes my leadership style must be flexible and adapt to the moment and time. While I prefer not to use top-down approaches, there are times when I alone need to make the decision. For example, every 2-3 years there is a district budgetary crisis that impacts us. I have to make the ‘Sophie’s choice’ kind of decisions, like cuts where a program is eliminated or when someone loses a job. It is my burden alone to make those tough decisions. There are other times to sit back, shut up, and not interfere. This is especially important when we are in a creative space with innovative thinking. In these moments, it’s important that staff look toward each other and not me for solutions.
In looking back over your career, what makes you most proud?
When I became principal of Avanti, I recognized that a shift in the culture of the school was necessary. The school started in 1997 as a school of ‘last resort’ for about 30 students. Most of the kids were the ‘creatives’ that rejected the culture of rules and compliance in the big high school. When I joined Avanti, the veteran teachers were the caretakers of a culture of compassion and support, oriented towards the “right-brained” creative types.
Over time it became necessary to shift the culture around a singular vision also focused on student outcomes. I believed that by using the principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools, the culture could evolve to value creativity, pedagogy and student outcomes. That would require flexibility, so that students could choose from all types of ways to ‘show what they know’. That’s the bread and butter of mastery-based learning.
Shifting the culture was a transformational process that required building strong relationships with the teachers. We had lots of deep conversations along the way as we built a collaborative culture. Our model evolved over time. We normalized the practices so they were used consistently across the school. We were always careful to model the values and behaviors that we expected for our kids.
In addition to changing the school culture internally, I had the task of changing people’s perception of our culture and our school outside of our school community. The district and the local community saw us as a place of last resort for ‘those kids’. It took a long time, but we are now known as a valuable choice for all of our kids in the district.
I’m proud of our transition to a school of the arts and equity where demonstrations of mastery are the foundation of teaching and learning. We will continue to grow and evolve, attracting a much broader and diverse group of students. That’s because we will continue to focus on a strengths based approach to teaching and learning, finding a student’s strength and using it as the vehicle for growth.
How do you manage change at Avanti?
Creating change is part of every school improvement process. At Avanti, that means school improvement is always a transformational process. As a principal, I’m always thinking about four things: strengthening our culture; maintaining high quality relationships; democratic decision-making; and, encouraging others to both innovate and create meaningful changes.
Part of creating strong relationships is having meaningful conversations within the context of a shared vision. Talking with people about the things that are impacting them. Talking with them about their ideas and passions. I try to create processes that allow people to listen to each other. What it comes down to is that we are only as effective as the people around us. We know so much more as a collective.
At Avanti I use a process of listening to people individually and then in larger groups. As an idea builds energy, I’ll ‘pitch’ a proposal for staff to discuss. If there is a majority supporting the idea, I’ll bring it to the Community Cafe, an open meeting that includes teachers, students and families that we hold throughout the year. We don’t move forward until we’ve addressed the concerns.
It’s not a linear process. For example, teachers brought back lots of ideas from the MBLC trip to the New York City Competency Collective schools. They were excited and wanted to implement some of the ideas immediately. In conversation with staff it became clear that we didn’t have consensus. So teachers are still working together to strengthen the idea. When it comes to practices that impact students, we don’t want to move forward until we have agreement among the teachers.
Change can never be a quick thing. You have the opposite effect if you go quickly. That means one of the most important characteristics of a leader is patience. Take the time to make sure everyone has a voice. Listen carefully. But you don’t have to listen passively. Engage with people to explore ideas together. Create a process that will kick up the conversation several notches so that it leads to change.
What advice would you offer a principal who is leading a significant change effort
for the first time?
First, in shifting a school culture you have to constantly keep a focus on building strong relationships. Principals need to have reciprocal relationships with everyone. You have to see them and be seen. The culture of schools is going to be impacted by the quality of your relationships. You can’t make mistakes when it comes to relationships.
Second, you have to find time for teachers to learn and to learn together. I think the hardest thing as a leader is not having the funds or time for teachers to learn and be together. Avanti’s teachers only have 12 hours per year for self-directed learning. I encourage them to try to do it together as it builds our collective knowledge.
Third, be sure to provide opportunities for experimentation and collaboration. It doesn’t work to just tell someone to do something. They need to learn about the new ideas. They need time to exchange ideas and get feedback. It always ends up with something fantastic when they have time to experiment. And if they are inspired by something, empower them to follow their passions. In addition, do what you can to remove the barriers that teachers might find in their way. Help them to keep moving forward.
Participating in the MBLC has made a difference. The grant, with its focus on the Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education (CRSE) framework, has helped us find the time to extend our culture of learning together. Each year we read a book together as a staff such as Everyday Anti-Racism. Participating in MBLC allowed us to move beyond conversations and talk about what it would look like in our classes. It’s given us that extra time to try out ideas.
What are the most important qualities you look for when building a high-performing team of teachers?
It’s not often that I have an opportunity to hire new staff. When I do I look for people that are inquisitive and love learning. I’m always looking for people who are curious about the world. Equally important is that they are relational. They are empathetic, collaborative, and demonstrate emotional intelligence. Of course I’m always looking for people who put kids first. Energetic people with lots of different experiences, skills and interests are kid magnets. Finally, I look for someone who is adaptable and resilient. We are in a perpetual state of change as we are always refining our practices. Avanti’s staff need to thrive in this environment.
However, you need a culture that supports staff. The types of teachers that make Avanti such a dynamic school won’t stay unless they are respected, can contribute, and feel that they are part of a team. Our teachers rarely leave.
What advice do you wish someone had given you earlier in your career?
My nature is to push forward. I grew up in generational poverty. I was the first person to go to college. My success was based on pushing hard. Stopping to have fun hasn’t been part of the journey.
As a principal, I often felt as if I was pushing a boulder up the hill. It wasn’t until much later in my career that I learned that it’s important to take the time to celebrate all the accomplishments and victories along the way. We need to have fun and celebrate together.
I do wish someone had reached out and told me that sometimes going a little slower, taking the time to have fun, would have helped move things forward. It would have also made the weight on my shoulders a little lighter.
What advice would you give a principal starting down the path on MBL and CRSE?
First, remember it’s more important than ever before that you create a solid foundation of support for the vision in advance of making any changes. Without support for a vision, everything can just fall apart. People need to understand MBL/ CRSE and why it is important in terms of their own experiences. It’s harder to do with the culture wars. It’s getting harder to convince someone to embrace something different. That’s why you have to spend the time developing the support. Some staff might leave and principals have to be okay with that. In fact, it might help you in the long run.
Second, MBL and CRSE are likely going to require changing the culture. Remember, you can’t change the culture overnight. It’s going to take time. You have to be flexible. And you have to be part of the culture first. You have to have ownership, be invested and welcomed into it before you think you can influence it.
