School Wide Change Management Requires An Effective Process

There are five stages to help implement a school-wide change. The first is “becoming informed” and this is the stage that centers on research and information gathering. The goal of the principal is to educate him/herself as much as possible so that he/she can better understand the benefits, concerns, and effectiveness of trying a new program in the building. This is also when any testing or screening would need to happen so that the principal can get a clearer picture of the needs within the school based on the current student population. The second stage is “building support” which is just as the name suggests. The goal of the administrator is to build support for the new changes and to have faculty buy-in so that teachers and staff members are motivated to make the change. Furthermore, this is a key time for the administrator to act as a leader and model so that he/she may inspire others to act and make positive choices in regards to the program. The next phase is “creating an action plan” which is usually with a small group of people hand selected by the administration. This group figures out the nuts and bolts of bringing the change into the school by looking at the schools readiness for such a program, funding, and gaining commitment from the staff. Also during this time, the administrator is setting goals, problem-solving, and finding ways to delegate and support those working on the plan. The fourth phase is “implementing the plan” and may seem like a time

Achieving a school district’s mission and vision requires the commitment of its stakeholders. In order to involve them in the process, it is necessary for educational leaders to “motivate staff, parents, students, board and community members” (Educational Leadership Constituencies Council, 2002, p. 4). The transformational leadership theory emphasizes the importance of educational leaders acting as role-models in order to motivate and inspire the school community. This approach has the potential to involve all stakeholders, leading to increased student success (Bush, 2007). The Assistant Director of Special Education in Northwest ISD directly supervised the school district’s assessment staff. Her education, experience, and passion set an example for her subordinates, stimulating them to achieve more, leading to her promotion to Executive Director of Student Services.

According to Michael Fullan (2016) in his book, The New Meaning of Educational Change, successful organizations that demonstrate change followed principled concepts of change. The reason for their success if that there is tangible proof of alignment in keeping components of actions. Fullan (2016) stated that successful change incorporates five factors. In this essay, three of the five factors will be discussed and an example of an organization using components of the change be revealed. Often when organization shave to go through the process of change it means either they have gone through change to repair broken areas or they are going through change as a reflective exercise before embarking on a larger scope of practice perhaps to expand into new growth within their organization. In either course, the larger concern is that organizations must embrace change and engage in meaningful constructed ways to promote the best growth with the fewest steps to reach accomplishment. A key decision factor to change is whether an organize will change because they adopt a model and see a better way or whether they want to save their resources. Fullan (2016) suggested that the reason for the change is largely to work is because, the organizations, “Define closing the gap as the overarching goal,” “Assume that lack of capacity is the initial problem and then work on it continuously,” and “Stay the course through continuity of good direction by leveraging leadership,” (Fullan, 2016,

Data collection has been around for years in one form or another. The implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act stimulated dedicated educators to learn the correlation between data driven decision-making and successful school improvement plans. The legislative goal was to ensure academic success across all socioeconomic frontiers. Districts across the country were steered into driving their instruction with data and teacher collaboration. This has lead to districts that have successfully found the correlation between data driven decision-making and success.

One will examine the underlying philosophies, theories and principles that shape their professional beliefs about children’s learning (Brown, et al., 2012; Waniganayake et al., 2012; Duignan, 2006). For any obstacles they may encounter, through the contingency theory, an educational leader will work with the appropriate style of leadership most suitable in that circumstance (Rodd, 2006), and respond to various situations in times of change by critically reflecting on the purposes they see for their setting and the goals they are aiming to achieve with children and families. Understanding from the transformational theory, an educational leader will be inspiring others with visions that can enable the team to be directed and motivated toward creating ‘a culture of learning and professional growth’ (Duignan, 2006; Waniganayake et al., 2012; Sinclair, 2007; Rodd, 2006; Siraj-Blatchford and Manni, 2006; ACECQA, 2013). Moreover, distributed leadership approach, which falls under the transformational theory, is seen in the educational leader as they work collaboratively with others towards the same vision (Rodd, 2006). For instance, taken from ACEQA (2013), the educational leader would examine routines with each of the room leaders, and how to make them more effective for children’s learning experiences. Here, the educational leader is not only guiding staff along, but also problem-solving

Teacher Collaboration measures the degree to which teachers engage in constructive dialogue that furthers the educational vision of the school.

Over the course of many years, several things have changed, including technology, science, and people; however, our culture and idea of education have not. Some of these problems include teachers that are not being as valued as they should be and students who are changing both physically and mentally, but are still not being supported by our education system. The education system itself is also problematic as well, but it can be fixed with a change in our culture. Teachers and students are the base of the education system, and by not helping them, the system is not helping itself. Students are gaining new emotions and viewpoints, but the education system has had a hard time keeping up, even teachers are changing but are still undervalued.

The purpose of this report is to propose change within an organization and evaluate 1) Knowledge, 2) Skills, and 3) Dispositions as they apply to the change process. This report is structured in a fashion to allow a school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning

This information was gathered in an interview with Andrea Williams, Principal of Theresa Bunker Elementary. In the past three years that Mrs. Williams has been principal of this school she has brought a strong focus onto using data to make appropriate instructional decisions as well as execute strategic planning to help the school progress. The implementation of the PLC process has helped the teachers to gain an understanding of how valuable data collection and analysis can be for their teaching practice. Looking at data also helps the school attain the yearly goals laid out by the district’s strategic plan. One of the first steps taken in developing a strategic plan for the school is to gather and analyze data in order to find the school’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for growth as well as any threats to the progress of the school. Early in the year the strategic planning team will review quantitative data collected from student achievement scores, attendance rates, discipline trends, financial records, transportation reports, and so forth. Depending upon the specific issue addressed in the planning process, these types of quantitative data serve to inform decision-making processes. The collection of qualitative data is also an integral part of best practices in development of a strategic plan. Qualitative data collection includes use of surveys, focus groups, and interviews with key stakeholder groups. It is important and useful to

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.

How many times have you heard that districts are making data driven decisions or using research based practices to announce a new initiative or request funding for the latest “silver bullet” in education? In some cases, these convenient buzzwords function as window dressing for the same old way of operating or justification for poorly planned spending of taxpayer dollars. Because of misconceptions about data or complete lack of understanding about how it can be utilized to make strategic and well planned decisions, many are unwilling to denounce data.

Fletcher, Geoffery H. "Making the Big Shift." T H E Journal 38.6 (2011): 16-18. Education Research Complete. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.

Marzano, McNulty and Waters propose five steps for a plan of effective school leadership. The first step is developing a leadership team with purpose. The definition used for a purposeful community is one with the collective efficacy and capability to develop and use assets to accomplish goals that mater to all community members through agreed-upon process (Marzano, et. al, 2005). The second step is distributing some responsibilities throughout the leadership team. The third step is to select the right work. The fourth step is to identify the order of magnitude implied by the selected work. The last step is to match the management style to the order of magnitude of the change initiative. The last step incorporates whether this is first or second order change.

investigate how my personal ability to manage change has shaped my leadership of educational change. This discussion will be blended with examples of change in my personal life, my own leadership experience and references to the literature in the field of leading educational change.

As the leader of a 21st century school one must embody the qualities that best reflect the ever-changing face of education. Traditionally, the leader of a school focused a large portion of time and energy on typical managerial functions within the school. These tasks, although important, will not propel a school to achieve excellence. Today’s school leaders must be visionaries who create a sense of purpose driven unity. As a transformational leader, one must also be the beacon of learning in establishing and effectively cultivating professional learning communities. One must recognize and further develop the leadership skills of those within the school in order to ensure the vision and mission of the school is achieved. Keeping in