Needs Analysis project

Running head: NEEDS 1

Needs Assessment Project

Name

CUR 712

Submission Date

Delta State University

NEEDS 2

The Problem

Embedded in ever individual are many beliefs, values, and assumptions. These elements

help create who we are. By nature, we tend to gravitate to groups of people that have the same

sentiments toward things as we do, thus creating a culture of people that act a certain way. When

thinking of organizations, they are like individuals, they have a culture and behave in certain

ways. However, what makes and organizations culture unique is that it is composed of many

different individuals, many different groups, creating many cultures inside of the organization.

This can become a problem, especially for organizations such as schools. Schools have the

responsibility of educating today’s youth for tomorrow’s world, and many cultures in a school

can hinder this pursuit. The idea culture for a school is a collaborative one. This type of culture

is perfect for increasing student achievement and building teacher’s capacity.

How can we improve school culture to create a better learning environment for students?

NEEDS 3

Hunches & Hypothesis

Being an administrator at Oakdale Elementary School (OES) for two years has given me

the opportunity to view things as an outsider with no preconceived notions. My observations

lead me to believe the culture of the school is not collaborative and teacher morale appeared to

be low. I also realized data was not discussed very often among school leaders, teachers, and

parents. This break down of communication lead to teachers not being included in decisions

made concerning the school. The administrators make decisions regarding which supplemental

materials should be purchased to help assist teachers and what would be the best direction to take

the school in. My final observation, which I considered the most troubling, was that the school

was operating without its own mission and vision. They relied on the districts mission to guide

the school.

NEEDS 4

Questions and Data

After reflecting on my hunches, I began to have questions about the schools cultures and

what other factors make be having an effect on it. I needed to find support material to answer

these questions, so I turned to Gruenert & Whitaker (2015) and Bernhardt (2013). These books

help guide the rest of my study by providing tools to assess with and insight on how to structure

this research. Included in this section will be a chart with a list of questions and the tools needed

to answer them.

Questions

Data Needed

How do teachers feel about the schools

leadership?

School Culture

What type of culture does the school currently

have?

School Culture Typology

How Often has the leadership changed?

Leadership Data

NEEDS 5

What percentage of teachers is new to the

school? ≤ 2yrs

Teacher Data

Does student demographics mirror teacher

demographics?

Student & Teacher Data

NEEDS 6

Analyzing Multiple Measures

Both Gruenert & Whitaker (2015) & Bernhardt (2013) suggested using multiple methods

of analyzing problems. In this case, the problem is my school’s culture. I analyzed data on

previous principals, new teacher data, teacher-student demographics, a school culture typology

questionnaire, and a school culture questionnaire.

Data Analyzed: Number of New Teachers

For this analysis, new teachers were considered teachers that have only been at the school

for 2 or less years.

Grade ≤ 2yrs > 2 yrs

K 1 3

1 1 3

2 2 2

3 2 2

4 2 2

5 2 2

6 2 2

Total 12 16

After looking over the results, 12 of our 28 certified teachers are new to the school.

Making 43 % of our teachers unaware of what the school culture is. This could have a

significant impact on how the culture of our school is changing.

NEEDS 7

Data Analyzed: Leadership Data

For this analysis, I looked at the number of previous principals and also their experience

as an administrator. Generally the more experience you have in a field, the better equipped you

are to be a leader in that area.

Principal Years as an assistant

principal

Years as a practicing

principal of OES

1 4 7

2 2 1

3 7 2

From various research studies, I understand leadership plays a key role in establishing the

culture of a school. After analyzing this data, I realized after the first principal, there has not

been a consistent principal in place to establish a thriving culture.

Data Analyzed: Student to Teacher Demographics

There is a growing problem in our country’s educations system where the teacher

demographics are not mimicking the student demographics. On observation, I thought this could

be true for OES. However, I decided to include all faculty and staff members in this section

because everyone in the schools plays a part in the culture.

96%

4% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120%

Caucasian African Amercian

Faculty & Staff

71%

25% 4% 0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

Caucasian African Amercian

Other

Students

NEEDS 8

Research has shown when teacher demographics do not closely mimic student

demographics; there is a possibility for a negative culture to develop. Although this culture may

develop first inside the classroom, it will find its way into the school.

Data Analyzed: School Culture Typology

The school culture typology assessment was given to 28 teachers, with 14 responding.

The typology consists of 10 categories with 6 statements per category. Teachers were instructed

to select one statement per category that best resembles the school.

After analyzing this data, I realized the majority of teaches believed the school has a

collaborative culture. This is the idea culture, however there are areas that need improvement

according to the data gathered.

Toxic Fragmented Balkanized Contrived Collegial

Comfortable Collaborative Collaborative

Student Achievement 1 1 4 5 1 2

Collegial 0 3 6 0 2 3 Shared Values 0 0 2 0 8 4

Decision Making 0 0 0 2 2 9 Risk Taking 0 4 0 1 2 7

Trust 1 0 3 0 5 5 Openness 0 0 1 5 4 4

Communication 0 0 1 1 1 11 Socialization 0 1 0 6 4 3 Organization

History 0 0 2 1 1 10

Totals 2 9 19 21 30 58

NEEDS 9

Data Analyzed: School Culture Survey

This survey is designed to provide information on how collaborative a school culture is.

Of the 28 questionnaires handed out, 24 were returned. There are 35 questions that teachers

rated on a 5-point Likert scale.

After analyzing this data I noticed teacher responses varied on multiple questions. I came to this

conclusion by looking at the standard deviation. If the deviation is .60 or lower, the teachers

answered along the same line.

NEEDS 10

Political Realities and Root Causes

Leadership Change

Carefully considering the root causes, it is my belief that three things help change the

culture of OES. First, there have been changes in leadership over the past four years. The

longest acting principal retired and a new principal, with little administrative experience arrived.

From teacher discussions, this was the turning point in the schools culture. The new principal

came with her own ideas and began to implement more stricter policies and procedures. After

her one year as principal, she was transferred to a new school and the assistant principal now

became the principal. This new principal has be tasked with turning the culture back into its

original form by eliminating strict policies left from principal 2.

Student Culture vs. Faculty Culture

While 71% of students in the school are Caucasian and 29% are African American or

Other, 96% of the faculty are Caucasian and 4% African American. This disparity among

faculty members and students causes a disconnect for 1/3 of the students in the school. This

disconnect creates culture problems because teachers may not be able to relate to the minority

students because of their beliefs and their own up bringing. This leads to culture problems in the

classroom, which become culture problems for the entire school.

Many teachers are Set

Teachers that arrive at Oakdale typically stay for an extended time. This is because the

school is always high performing, there is lots of parental support, and student behavior is at a

minimum. Although having seasoned teachers year after year is a great aspect of the school,

these teachers tend to become complacent and set in their ways. They know what has worked for

them in the past and they stick with it. This mindset causes problems when new administration

NEEDS 11

comes and attempts to introduce the school to new practices in education. These tenured

teachers become aggravated because they now believe they have extra work today and cannot

see the benefits of using newer practices. This becomes a power struggle between the

administration and teacher, which negatively affects the school’s culture.

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Action Plan

Oakdale Elementary currently does not have its’ own mission and vision. The school has

relied on the district office’s mission to help guide the school, thus not truly giving teachers and

other staff members clear direction on where the school should be headed. This section contains

the action plan to help create a better culture for the school by completing different objectives in

three phases.

Phase I

Meet with the Leadership Team to discuss results.

The goal for this objective is to show the leadership team the results of the SCS.

It is critical that the leadership team understands the dynamics of the school and how to interpret

these results. Once discussed, the Leadership Team will develop and plan to focus on two

problem areas each semester. Focusing on two areas a semester should not be so arduous

because the areas can be split between the leadership team. This should allow each area to have

4-5 members focusing on it around the school.

Phase II

Create a Vision and Mission

Relying on the district mission is great for newly established school in the district.

However, OES has been around for 11 years and needs to have its own vision and mission,

which fits into the districts mission, for the school. All stakeholders will be included in this

creation process. The school is a member of the community and community leaders, and parents

should be included.

NEEDS 13

Phase III

Meet with Faculty and Staff

To complete the action plan, there will be a meeting with the Leadership Team

and the entire faculty and staff of the school. The objective of this meeting is to introduce the

initiatives that will be in place and introduce the school’s vision and mission statement. This

will help ensure the entire school is on the same page and understands the direction the school

will be headed.

Persons Responsible

1. Principal

2. Assistant Principal

3. Counselor

4. PTA President

5. Teacher Leaders

6. Community Stakeholders

Evaluation & Measurement

• Bimonthly follow-up meetings with the leadership team

• Administer the School Culture Survey in late fall

• Administer the School Culture Typology in late fall

The results of the questionnaires will be compared to the 2015 results.

NEEDS 14

Reflection

As a leader in this school, I see the need for change in the culture. Teachers seem more

emotional, less patient, and student behavior problems seem to be rising. For these reasons, I

chose this project. OES has been a successful school for many years and according to others, the

school has always felt like a family environment. I want this feeling to continue. I want

students, parents, teachers, and visitors to feel welcomed and see the great things taking place in

our school. If the culture continues to decline, this ambience will not remain.

When I first decided to take on this research I thought it may be a daunting task and I

would not get much support from my teachers. I was wrong, the teachers were eager to complete

questionnaires. They wanted their voices to be heard, because they had never been asked how

they see the school. This was one of the easiest aspects of the project. I handed teachers the

questionnaire and asked them to return it on a certain date. I did not remind them because I

understood they have other work that needs to be completed. After analyzing the responses from

the questionnaire, I noticed answers were not consistent among all the responses on the School

Culture Survey. According to School Culture Rewired (2015), I needed to find the standard

deviation. This was the hardest aspect of the project for me. Although I had calculated standard

deviations before, I had to refresh my memory on how to comprehend the results of the

calculation.

From this project, I learned a lot about my school. I thought most teachers felt the school

was not collaborative and was in a downward spiral, however they thought the opposite.

According the responses, the majority of teachers believed the school had a collaborative culture,

but there were areas that needed improvement. Although the overall culture is considered

collaborative, not all teachers saw the culture in this manner. I also learned that we do not have a

NEEDS 15

vision and mission statement for the school. I believe any organization should establish their

own vision and mission and not allow someone else’s missions to dictate where the organization

is headed. It is my belief that leaders take organizations and make them better, while managers

take organizations keep things the same. For leaders to accomplish this, they have to have a

clear vision and mission for the organization.

If I had to redo this project, I would create the questionnaires in a digital format. It was

difficult collecting and keeping up with paper copies. Having teachers complete digital

questionnaires would have saved me time because I would have already had data to manipulate

in digital format as opposed to me entering all the responses into Excel. I also believe this

format would have allowed me to collect more responses, because some teachers forgot to turn in

their questionnaires although that have them completed.

From this assignment, I plan to meet with my principal and discuss my findings. At the

start of the project, she instructed me to inform her if I found anything worth pursuing. I would

like for us to look at teacher responses from the School Culture Survey and develop ways to

improve on the areas we are weak in. I also realized the need for more community input into

things happening at the school, so I would like to discuss the findings with our PTA president

and see if they have suggestions on improving certain areas also.

NEEDS 16

References

Bernhardt, L. V. (2013) Data analysis for continuous school improvement. Routledge. New York, NY

Gruenert, S., & Whitaker, T. (2015). School culture rewired: How to define, assess, and transform it.

ASCD. Alexandria, Va