mod 2 discussion 2
Candyy31
ResponseMOD2.docxRESPONSE1
Kendall Pankake: Initial Discussion Post
Top of Form
Specialization and Overview of Action Plan
I currently serve in the role of an assistant principal. As we were asked to choose the role of someone on Grand City’s task force, I chose to focus on the role of the district superintendent.
In last week’s discussion post, I mentioned the following action steps:
1. Overcrowding in schools - after conducting a thorough assessment of populations and student need, I would reference state standards related to adult to student ratios. If they were not currently appropriate, I would compile research and data to present to the school board to petition for more adults, and potentially more space for students.
2. Teachers being open to change - I would work with school principals to assist them in developing schedules that allow for teacher collaboration and professional development as a regular practice.
3. Decreased test scores - I would begin by ensuring curricula is rigorous and relevant to the student population, especially in tested areas.
4. Unmanageable requests for student services - I would begin by working with student services teams to ensure a functioning MTSS process was in place in each school building.
5. Staggering graduation rates - I would ensure that all schools are providing a positive, supportive, and safe environment.
Selected Team Members
By looking at my identified action steps, I am able to identify the individuals that would support the completion of each action. As I go through these steps, I plan to look from the kens of the district in which I work. This is a small district, with an administrative team of 14. The first action step would require school board members, a human resources director, a business manager, and the appropriate personnel should the need be determined for additional staffing. For the second action step, I would need school principals, the assistant to the superintendent, and director of pupil services. For the third action step, I would need school principals, lead teachers, and the assistant to the superintendent. For action step number four, I would need an assistant principal, school counselors, lead teachers, and the home and school visitor. For action step number five, all stakeholders are needed.
Evidence-Based Strategies for Working Collaboratively
Morel (2014) suggested that the most effective collaboration occurs when the goal is worthwhile and the expectations are high. Furthermore, trust is necessary (Morel, 2014). I believe that an effective leader can foster an environment that allows for the aforementioned items when they focus on providing structures for staff without micromanaging. If I were the leader striving to create this environment, I would facilitate a team that created a goal together. I would have the team create a meeting structure and be there to work alongside them. Sterrett et al. (2015) referenced a principal who strived to foster collaborative time and teacher leadership. Sometimes, time is the largest obstacle.
Use of Ongoing Data
Abdul-Majied et al. (2018) suggested that in order for data to be effective, a school must have a robust culture of data use and professional development opportunities related to data use. Not only is it crucial for the leadership team to be competent in data-driven decision-making, but also to build the capacity of the team to have the same skills. As a leader, I would strive to create a robust culture of data use for my staff. Looking at Grand City’s data, it is clear that they are competent in looking at the correct data. I would continue to pull reports of the same data regularly that relate to my action steps in order to identify trends and deficits. By doing so, further action steps could be identified and carried out.
References
Abdul-Majied, S., Figaro-Henry, S., & Suepaul, N. (2018). A multiple case study of data use
practice in eight early childhood centres in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Early Child Development and Care, 188(9), 1287–1301. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2017.1375481
Morel, N. (2014). Setting the stage for collaboration: An essential skill for professional growth.
Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 81(1), 36-39. doi: 1080/00228958.2005.10532081
Sterrett, W., & Irizarry, E. (2015). Beyond “autopsy data”: Bolstering teacher leadership, morale,
RESPONSE 2
Ashlee Robinson
RE: Discussion 2 - Module 2
Top of Form
Specialization and Over of Action Plan
I currently work in a 5-8 middle school as a Title 1 English Interventionist. I served this role for almost 10 years now. When choosing a role for the Grand City task force, I ended up choosing to stay this role as an intervention specialist. Over the last decade, the way students learn and fill achievement gaps have changed drastically. It is essential that our current stakeholders immerse themselves in what is the new 21st century and the skills students desperately need to be college and career ready.
In the last discussion,I pulled some of the worrisome data from Grand City around attendance, decreased test scores, graduation rates, and overcrowding. Just as Chenoweth (2014) states, “We know what works to improve schools. Now, let’s focus on using the most effective practices.” As an interventionist, I think that is exactly what Grand City needs. The data needs to be analyzed, and an action plan needs to be set into place. From the action steps listed last week I discussed:
· Overcrowding
· There would need to be an accurate count of students/teachers in each class, each period, or grade level. From there, it would be important to determine what the actually suggested ratio is.
· Decreased test scores
· All academic data that is collected would need to be examined to see where students are struggling. From there, if the data shows a trend of where students are struggling, or where the gap is then intervention needs to be targeted as soon as possible.
· Student Services
· To help with this, implementing a concrete guideline and team to support MTSS will help determine students who truly need more support.
· Low Graduation
· There news to be a sense of connection to one’s community, providing family engagement to ensure that students have the support they need as they work toward graduation, or even looking into adding a mentorship program, where students can build relationships with community role models, explore career paths, and even volunteer (Wireman, 2022).
Team members will need to be diligently selected by the areas that are of greatest concern from the list above. The superintendent of Grand City will need to be the first member on the team as her opinion and leadership are essential for reform to happen. Furthermore, we will need the Grand City principal as he discussed the lack of financial support for hiring additional staff members to aid in interventions (Walden University, 2016b). His ideas and creativity will also be important to find alternate solutions to ratify the reading programs to be more effective at start before Kindergarten. From there, we will need both curriculum director and student services administration, as they will be able to help with the reading curriculum and find ways to lower and or support the overwhelming number of students applying for special services. Lastly, we will need the board and the community stakeholders to aid in mentoring partnerships, and community outreach to increase our graduation rates. This will be a big team effort.
Chenoweth (2014) usus the idea of collaboration to build effective practices, and focuses on what matters most. This looks like collaborating on how to teach content by unpacking standards and using a more standards based approach. It also looks like using assessments to make data driven decisions, and building personal relationships amongst all stakeholders.
The use of ongoing data is crucial in education. Providing evidence of students' learning is the best practice for both acceleration and remediation. Teachers must be trained on how to appropriately read and analyze data, to make decisions that greatly impact a student's learning. “An increased availability of technology, financial support from policymakers, and greater accountability for student outcomes have all contributed to the increased focus on data use for educational improvement globally” (Marsh & Farrel, 2015).
References
Chenoweth, K. (2015). How do we get there from here? Educational Leadership, 72(5), 16-20.
Marsh, J. & Farrell, C. (2015). How leaders can support teachers with data-driven decision making: A framework for understanding capacity building. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 43(2), 269-289. doi:10.1177/1741143214537229
Walden University (2016). Grand City education and demographic files [PDF}. Author.
Bottom of Form
