Do You Practice Positive Deviance?

Do you practice Positive Deviance in you school community? Throughout our school communities, there are positive deviants or as Kevin Buck refers to them as Positive Innovators -- individuals whose uncommon behaviors enable them to find better practices to pervasive problems, while sharing the same resource base as other stakeholders within their respective community. The Positive Deviance Approach allows us to recognize and acknowledge what's working in our school communities by publicizing behavioral strategies that lead to success. By focusing on what works, we can begin to close the achievement gap and increase student retention. One example of the Positive Deviance Approach in schools is in Brazosport, Texas, a district which basically eliminated the achievement gap between racial and socioeconomic groups by tapping the talents of successful teachers and amplifying their strategies around the district. [For a detailed description of Brazosport's methods, see The Results Fieldbook by Mike Schmoker (ASCD, 2001) ] We need to know the Positive Deviance behaviors and practices that you and your colleagues believe lead to successful school change. Email the IFT about your PD behaviors. How are you using strength-based thinking in the teaching and learning process? What great things are taking place between teachers and parents that are helping students? Email us at IFT@cta.org