MAINTAINING A CULTURE OF ACHIEVEMENT
Change can be a daunting task for teachers, administrators and stakeholders. Maintaining a culture of achievement requires the successful cooperation of many moving parts. Administration teams set the expectations, communication and guidance to successful change the culture and climate of a school. A proper plan must be carefully and thoughtfully implemented to assure all stakeholders are involved in the process of change. Change can create positive and successful outcomes for students when it is implemented properly.
Plan
Many aspects are affected with the implementation of new plans. The following sections will describe the planning aspects for City High School as the implementation for Competency Based Learning takes place.
Implementation
The instruction vision will be established and maintained over the next three years by creating an instructional leadership team composed of department chairs, teachers, assistant principals and the principal of City High School. This team will be responsible for creation of school wide best teaching practices for Competency Based Learning (CBL), providing examples and opening their classrooms for teachers and staff members to observe their lessons in action. The school will utilize many aspect of Google such as, email, calendar events, website creation, surveys to collect data and sheets to organize the collected data.
During professional development actives at the beginning of the school year teachers will develop short and long-term goals within their departments. Research by Esch (2018) states giving teachers the instructional tools they need in professional development activities helps teachers to create an equitable experience for students. The entire staff will work together to create school wide short and long term goals for the school year. In an article written by Katterfeld (2013) goals are written by staff with the guidance of school leadership these goals can improve teacher instructional skill and in turn provide students with more successful educational experiences. These goals will be guided by the administration and will focus on increasing attendance rates for all grade levels and increasing freshman on-track success rates.
Attendance data will be collected weekly throughout the year and shared with staff as the key performance indicators used to monitor student progress. This data will be shared using a spreadsheet where information will be broken down and shared monthly in department meetings. Teachers will analyze data and create plans of action to help increase attendance and on track rates. Graduation rates will also be analyzed and compared with years before the implementation of CBL and the results after the implementation of CBL. Data will be analyzed in department meetings and throughout the year during professional development activities.
Conclusion
Effective administrative leadership is the guiding force to maintaining a culture of achievement. A strong instructional vision collaborated with teachers and shared throughout the school creates opportunities for successful student engagement. Teachers involved in the collaborative process feel a sense of worth in the work place. A leadership team can help to distribute leadership and create an environment conducive to learning. Including stakeholders throughout the school and community help to strengthen the bonds students’ can make in the world. Continued professional development opportunities are a key factor in successful implementation of CBL. Communication, leadership, proper goal setting, collaboration and inclusion of community members are essential factors to successfully maintain a culture of achievement.