Assessment of Existing Culture
Just two years into its existence, the high school is doing remarkably well. The school welcomes 1100 students each day. Currently, the school only has the capacity for grades 9 to 11, but grade 12 programming is being developed now. The staff of 45 dedicated full-time teachers is eager to become a part of this new school, which has two assistant principals in addition to the principal at the helm. School counselors, administrative assistants, and other staff round out the human resources. Although there is significant room for improvement, the high school is off to a good start.
Some of the main areas in need of improvement include the lack of vision for a professional learning community or a collaborative learning environment to stimulate personal and professional development. Additionally, administration has created a sense of insecurity and mistrust in the culture by creating too many temporary positions and not engendering a sense of civic pride in the institution. Teachers are not being formally evaluated nearly enough, and not all teachers are using a standard curriculum or participating in professional development planning. Teacher development days are underutilized, and teachers lack support for their own leadership visions.
Setting a New Vision
As the incoming principal, I look forward to transforming the organizational culture in the school. My primary focus will be on creating a professional learning community and collaborative learning environment. A professional learning community establishes a culture of accountability, professionalism, and collaboration. Ultimately, a collaborative learning environment promotes high levels of student achievement and success (Owen, 2014). The vision for the high school will be to promote a culture of success for both educators and students.
Policies and Procedures
The first step in transforming the school culture will be to hold a series of meetings to discuss future plans. Instead of letting go of core teaching staff, I would make sure...
References
Gal-Arieli, N., Beeri, I., Vigoda-Gadot, E., et al (2015). Leadership transforms education. Academy of Management Proceedings. doi: 10.5465/AMBPP.2015.13707
Guskey, T.R. (2014). Planning professional learning. Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications. 15. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/edp_facpub/15
Owen, S. (2014). Teacher professional learning communities. Australian Journal of Adult Learning 54(2): 54-77.
Trust, T., Krutka, D. G & Carpenter, J. (2016). Together We Are Better: Professional Learning Networks for Teachers. Computers & Education. 326. DOI: 10.1016/j.compedu.2016.06.007 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036013151630135X
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