School Improvement Essay

To close the achievement gap I have to seek the help of many people within the school community. First, before the beginning of the school year I will meet with the teachers in my building and discuss ways to close the gap. The staff and I will look for patterns and once patterns are determined, we will look for research based options for our professional development focus for the school year. Secondly, I will

Identifies skills, theories of change, program designs, partnerships, and ways of building schools where students achieve.

The major emphasis in education for the 21st century is on data driven accountability measured by student performance on standardized testing. National and state expectations require students to demonstrate mastery of curriculum objectives. Instructional objectives are the focus of the building principals to show measurable student progress. The improvements are evaluated based on data and monitoring of the curriculum.

Closing the achievement gap is not an easy task. However, education leaders have a moral obligation to create a system of student supports and a belief system in which all students achieve beyond the standards. A superintendent's belief system and passion need to extend outward. As you move your institution toward the goal of everyone passionately believing, as a district leader, you only hire teachers, administrators, secretaries, bus drivers, custodians and all staff members who believe this as deeply as you do. By doing this, you begin to change the culture of your institution be it a school or an entire district.

W. Edwars Deming, American engineer and management consultant, wrote “a bad system will beat a good person every time.” This quote demonstrates the necessity for a school administrator to establish a school culture that is inviting and characterized by collaboration. In order to intentionally create a welcoming and collaborative school climate, clear, frequent, and inclusive communication is fundamental. Families, staff, and community members should be afforded the opportunity to become involved in enhancing student learning, the decision making processes of the school, and meaningful school-based activities. Opening the lines of communication about possible involvement at a school promotes a good system, in which good people can thrive.

As an emerging instructional leader, Part 2: Policies and Programs provides a framework for improving schools. Danielson states how difficult it is to accomplish institutional change (Danielson, 32); however by giving careful consideration to school organization, policies and practices affecting students and faculty and school and community relations improvement is

This will allow the students to successfully passed their Some strategies for implementing plans to turnaround failing schools includes, previous school data such as test scores, graduation rate, advanced placement and dual enrollment courses, additional time for teaching and collaboration and allowing one to one technology, strong instructional programs, strong leaders and effective teachers, and community support. When turning around a failing school within a few years it’s a major deal. Meaning it starts from the top by replacing the staff and turning the school over to a charter organization and changing the school culture of the school.

collaborative and ongoing process for improvement that aligns the functions of the school with the expectations

In order to choose goals for Russell Upper Elementary, I needed to take the pulse of the school. I knew that I would need the help of other teachers so I formed a leadership team. This team was comprised of myself, a fifth grade teacher, a sixth grade teacher, and the two grade level counselors. This team was formed to help RUE make school wide decisions. We decided to give teachers the Snapshot Survey of School Effectiveness Factors. The leadership team explained to staff the reasoning behind the survey so that they could understand the purpose of the data.“Substantive change initiative must be supported by both administrators and teachers”(Marzano 174) The leadership team converted the Snapshot Survey into an electronic version so we could

Last night, we started class by reviewing the guidelines for your School Improvement Plan. When you become an administrator, you will almost certainly be asked to contribute your ideas to the development of a School Improvement Plan. The School Improvement Plan assignment is an opportunity for you to show off your leadership skills and vision with respect to the development and articulation of curriculum. I am looking forward to reading your reports; if you need any help getting started, or get stuck along the way, please reach out to me.

Data-driven instruction in schools is a developing practice across school districts with minimal rigorous research conducted necessary to build generalization of studies to practice. Datnow, Park, and Wohlstetter (2007) carry out a study with the intent purpose of creating a reference document for districts and schools wanting to create a data-driven culture. The study examines two mid-size urban school districts as well as two nonprofit charter management organizations, that have sustained performance driven school systems and has improved student achievement over time. The qualitative case study summarized the key strategies of performance-driven school systems, including: “Building a Foundation for Data-Driven Decisions Making, Establishing

An effective school leader possesses skills to create, implement, evaluate, improve and share a staff development plan. I met with Ben Rhodes, Sandy Creek Middle School’s principal, to interview him on the specific elements of his yearly staff development plan. We began with the design process focusing on the district and school goals. District goals include improving literacy across the content areas in reading and writing, Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum (GVC). Guaranteed and Viable Technology (GVT), and Closing the Achievement Gap (Equity in Excellence). Using a variety of assessments to focus on specific needs, Ben Rhodes and Mary Sonya, our Pupil Achievement Specialist, examined CSAP, Explore, MAP, and RAD data. They use the

“The strategy represented by Community Schools - of extending the hours, services and partnerships of schools and of organizing these additional resources around the goal of student success - is more relevant than ever. Most of the educational reforms of the past decade have at best produced only modest results, in large measure because they have focused almost exclusively on the instructional side of the teaching-and-learning equation. While strengthening instruction, aligning assessments and improving teacher effectiveness are all critical elements of school reform, these approaches fall into the ‘necessary but not sufficient’ category. Instructional reforms can be successful only when they are combined with the comprehensive and integrated

The ability to coordinate a budget plan that supports the district’s improvement plan can be a complicated process. As superintendent, I will need to develop a budget plan utilizing resources that promotes the improvement initiative plan, as well as student learning. In addition, my improvement plan must be equitable, effective, and incorporate both

For this experience, I chose to visit an elementary school and its feeder middle school. I chose this because students leave this elementary school with a high rate of student achievement, yet in middle school the scores plummet. I wanted to investigate how they could close this gap. Comparing philosophies, expectations and leadership styles for schools within the same community was also a goal.