A Framework For Low Performing Schools

Lincoln High School, which is located in a low-income neighborhood in San Diego, was a rebuilt after 50 years of failing to educate children. Rebuilding the high school was the answer the community had been looking for they were hopeful. Before the rebuild most students who attended Lincoln did not meet the standards for their grade-level, few graduated and even fewer went go on to college. After years of suffering and neglect there was little doubt That Lincoln High School deserved the $129 million it received from the city to rebuild. But was rebuilding the school the solution for Lincoln High School 's education problem? First we’ll examine, How the problem started, the decision making steps and if the plan was successful.

According to the discussion, “Our failing schools. Enough is enough!” by Dr. Geoffrey Canada, who has spent decades as head of the Harlem Children’s Zone. Canada says "The education system look so similar to the way it did 50 years ago, millions of students were failing then, as they are now, and it’s because we’re clinging to a business model that clearly doesn’t work" (Canada, 2013). Instead of coming up with a new plan that could help students advance academically, the system chooses not to contribute because they are afraid of innovation. Ted encourages "the system to look at the data, think about the customers and make systematic shifts in order to help greater numbers of kids excel"(Canada, 2013).

Mark Biller describes the educational system like a delicate ecosystem, all parts of it need to work together if things are going to last. If the community does not support a school, odds are the school will have to close-down. If the teachers don’t work with parents, then kids will not get the support they need. If parents do not support teachers, students loose an

Schools frequently cite a variety of social problems like poverty, broken homes, and bad parenting as excuses for their own poor performance (Greene, 289). In the article of The Myth of Helplessness it touches on a few reasons why it is believed that some schools have great reviews and others don’t. Greene talks about what others believe helps the school systems and what is believed that causes students to fail in school. I agree with author Jay P. Greene that, yes poverty, broken homes and other social problems pose a significant challenge but the evidence simply does not leave room for the conclusion that these challenges are insurmountable (290).

I am a member of the Better Seeking Team at my elementary school. This committee is a leadership team responsible for driving decisions and changes in a positive direction. The National Institute for Urban School Improvement describes the school leadership team as “a school-based group of individuals who work to provide a strong organizational process for school renewal and improvements.” (2005, p. 2) As a member of this team, we recently attended the 2015 Model Schools Conference presented by the International Center for Leadership in Education. Bill Daggett, the founder and chairman of the ICLE, says its focus “has been devoted to observing, studying, and supporting the transformation of the nation’s most rapidly improving schools. The key to improving student performance is a tireless focus on providing rigorous and relevant instruction, and that every level of the education organization must be tightly aligned and carefully coordinated around that singular goal.” (n.d.) My professional goal for the coming school year is to implement the major aspects from one of the presentations our team deemed most significant at the conference, the Rigor/Relevance Framework for teaching in a twenty-first-century classroom.

The gap between the nation’s best and worst public schools continues to grow. Our country is based on freedom and equality for all, yet in practice and in the spectrum of education this is rarely the case. We do not even have to step further than our own city and its public school system, which many media outlets have labeled “dysfunctional” and “in shambles.” At the same time, Montgomery County, located just northwest of the District in suburban Maryland, stands as one of the top school systems in the country. Within each of these systems, there are schools that excel and there are schools that consistently measure below average. Money alone can not erase this gap. While

This experience of addressing the needs of the fourth largest public school system in the country has provided me unique insights into the challenges faced by schools at the K-12 level, including those of English learners” 9, Energy and Environment – “Florida’s 26th Congressional District is home to some of our country’s greatest natural treasures, including the Everglades and Biscayne National Parks and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary” 10, Foreign Affairs – “I have the utmost respect for the men and women who wear our nation’s uniform and work every day to secure the freedoms and liberties we as Americans are privileged to enjoy. Our Congressional District is honored to be home to both the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Key West and Naval Air Station Key West, along with hundreds of service members who reside in South Florida” 11, Health Care – “I believe that all Americans strive for and deserve a healthcare system that is both affordable and efficient. The dramatically increasing cost of healthcare, troubling classification standards for employer provided plans, and importance of medical research are a few of my top priorities. Ultimately, affordable healthcare must be accessible to every hard-working American family. I will continue to work to ensure that our nation’s healthcare system is serving the best interests of the American people” 12, Transportation – “The need for dedicated, long-term funding for transportation and infrastructure projects is vital to alleviating the congestion problems that plague South Florida” 13, Veterans –“Our nation owes its military veterans a debt of gratitude for their service and sacrifices. Each took an oath, lived by a code, and stood ready to offer themselves in defense of their country. The lives we live today, and the freedoms we enjoy, have been preserved by their protection. Too many of these noble service

As a result of the location of the school in a suburban community, the parents are very actively involved in the school. As a result of the active of the supportive parents in the community, the students arrived every day with a smile on their faces and generally prepared for learning. However, as with

My interest in pursuing a position as a school administrator for an elementary school system is to provide leadership for staff members and quality education for all students, and to become part of the world of education. The Benjamin Franklin School located in the Dallas School District serves as a growing population of approximately 1,070 students. The school offers a well-defined educational system for the students, and it has an overall student-to-teacher ratio of 17:1. In addition to the statewide curriculum standards, the school offers special education programs and classes for the gifted and talented. As a result of the school district rankings in the student’s performance, Benjamin Franklin School has become the worst in the

The Framework for Teaching by Charlotte Danielson has been developed through research as a guideline for current and future teacher’s professional responsibilities in and out of the classroom. Districts throughout the country are using this framework to assess and guide their teachers to build successful methods of planning and preparations, setting up the classroom environment, instruction and professional responsibilities. Each of these domains builds off of each other to form a successful learning environment. Domain 3 focuses more specifically on instruction using communication, discussions, engagement, assessments and flexibility.

In light of accountability requirements, fear of not meeting AYP (Annual Yearly Progress), and required school improvement plans, often the idea of “school improvement” is considered a negative attribute. Obviously schools do not want to be singled out or identified as in need of improvement. Teachers often take the same view towards the idea of improvement. We as teachers take very personal that concept of improvement; we often parallel the need for improvement to failure. However my belief is that effective schools are always in a school improvement process and effective teachers too also are constantly adapting their practice in a culture of continuous improvement and growth. Therefore it is important as an effective leader to build a community of trust and collaboration. I quote “We are all in this together. Once we know that we are, we’re all stars and we see that we’re all in this together.” (Disney High School Musical, 2006) These lyrics from a popular Disney movie put to light exactly the school culture where the goal is not personal but as a community to use data driven and research based approaches in reflection and growth that assist all stakeholders.

The purpose of the book is to explain as how to help teachers evaluate and use his methods to create a quality school. Glasser’s book takes place in the American school system during the 1980s and highlights the problems of schools that are failing their students. Throughout the book he gives examples of what is being done wrong in the American school system, and what educators can do to fix it. While hitting major points to cover his purpose he uses scenarios to show administrators and teachers how to take their school and create the quality school.

The nature of the book is a how to guide in helping teachers evaluate and use his methods to create a quality school. Glasser’s book takes place in American schools during the 1980s and highlights the problems of schools that are failing their students. Throughout the book he gives examples on what is being done wrong in the American school system, and what educators can do to fix it. His other minor purpose of the book is to show administrators and teachers how to take their school and create the quality school.

We know that shutting down schools are a budget tactic within districts and according to Scholars Strategy Network an article published by Vontrese R. Deeds Pamphile, with uprooting students they loose what they value the most and that is familiarity, stability and comfort in their school. Reformers who favor performance-based school closures assume that families will choose a better school performance wise for their children and sometimes this is not the case due to parents not being fully informative on academics at other schools. According to Pamphile studies indicate that many students experience social disruptions as well as adverse academic effects after schools close and in many instances closures can undermine the very student outcome that administrators and policymakers are trying to improve. However according to the Philadelphia Research Initiative the long-term effect of school closings on student performance appears to be minimal and Kansas City;s was the best received by

School improvement is transformation. It is one of the most important actions of a school. It is a process that schools must use with fidelity to ensure that at all students are given the opportunity to perform and achieve at exemplary levels. School improvement is vital to schools and it is a process that cannot be done in isolation. It requires team work, collaboration, and constant analysis of data and setting of goals. School improvement goals focus on how to meet the needs of students. Addressing the educational needs, funding, and achievement gaps between subgroups is collaborative effort involves everyone that has a vested interest in the schools. These basic measures set the foundation for improvement. And so, if it is the