Exploring School Leaders Communities of Practice and School Improvement

This case study describes a pilot professional development project in which school leaders met regularly in a community of practice to clarify each other’s identification of a problem of practice followed by development and implementation of a school improvement plan. Findings indicated positive perceptions of and engagement in the community of practice, revealing this process provided a platform for authentic feedback, reflective practice, and means to share ideas. Participants reported improved leadership behaviors associated with school improvement planning and implementation.

School Leaders in a Time of Accountability and Data Use

School leaders are challenged with the task of high stakes testing and student achievement. In the data-driven K-12 setting, it is necessary to have quality school leaders in place. Universities are charged with preparing these quality school leaders. Educational leadership programs need to contain quality structure and key components. These key components required of leadership preparation programs consist of data, leadership style/theories, data culture/climate school leader organizational and management, school community relations, professional development, school/teacher improvement, school improvement plan (SIP), implementation of SIP goals, and field experience. These key components need to encompass the national educational leadership preparation (NELP) standards and the professional standards for educational leaders (PSEL) standards to maintain a successful educational leadership program.

Planning for what? An analysis of root cause quality and content in school improvement plans

PurposeLimited research on root cause analysis exists in educational leadership. Accurately diagnosing and detailing root causes—the why—of organizational failure, as is relatively common in other fields, could improve principals' ability to devise situationally- and contextually-responsive solutions in their improvement plans. In this study, the authors analyze school improvement plans to provide insight into how principals use root cause analysis to identify their and their school's failures as a way to respond strategically with goals and action steps.Design/methodology/approachIn this exploratory qualitative study, the authors develop coding schemes and leverage an existing rubric of school improvement plan quality to assess what principals identify as root causes for 216 priorities across 111 school improvement plans.FindingsThe overall quality of root causes submitted by principals was low, typically between “beginning” and “developing” stages. The majority of root causes aligned with priorities and desired outcomes, but fewer than one-third had a systems focus. Moreover, less than half of root causes suggested that school leaders played a part in the organizational failures. The vast majority of plans instead identified teachers as the root cause, foundational fault or “why” of the problem.Originality/valueAn increased understanding of root cause analysis conceptualization and development seems necessary if improvement planning is to be a strategic response to a school's most serious organizational challenges. The predominant approach to school improvement planning has focused almost exclusively on how to succeed or become better with little investment in identifying root causes of organizational decline or failure. This initial study of root cause quality in school improvement planning is a key first step in critically thinking about how improvement is to be achieved when failure is unconceived.

Implementing School Improvement Plans: Perceptions and Implications of Aspiring Principals for Educational Leadership Programs

This study examines what aspiring principal candidates in one universitybase preparation program learned as a result of developing and implementing a school improvement plan. A case study approach was used to examine 53 aspiring principals’ reports of what they learned from implementing school improvement plans. Findings revealed three significant themes: (1) the importance of collaboratively engaging the participants of the school improvement plan; (2) the essential need of establishing relationships; and (3) understanding the significance and impact of data-driven decisions. Findings can inform leadership preparation programs to redirect coursework that will help aspiring principals improve leadership skills.

Awareness Is Not Enough: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of Providing Discipline Disproportionality Data Reports to School Administrators

One commonly used strategy used in attempts to decrease racial disproportionality in school discipline across the country is sharing data with school administrators that discipline disparities are a problem in their schools with the assumption that it will increase attention to equity and improve outcomes. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of providing monthly disciplinary equity reports to school administrators in 35 schools on levels of (a) disciplinary equity report viewing, (b) disciplinary equity, and (c) inclusion of disciplinary equity into school improvement plan goals. We used a small, double-blind randomized controlled trial in which half of the schools were randomly assigned to receive either monthly disciplinary equity reports or monthly general discipline reports. Results showed that schools receiving the equity reports had significantly increased rates of viewing equity reports but no meaningful change in disciplinary equity or equity goal setting.

Elementary Service-Learning Project Example

Every year, the L.E.A.D. program requires teacher candidates to plan and implement a Service Learning Project that meets a need in his or her placement school. The progression of the projects has been outlined in Chapter X. This chapter includes an example of a Service Learning Project implemented at a local elementary school by two L.E.A.D. teacher candidates: Kaitlynn Dunn and Katie Polkosnik. The idea to combine mathematics and mindfulness came from their own observations of the school, conversations with staff and administration, and a review of the school's EQAO scores, school improvement plan, and school climate survey.

Compliance of Public Elementary Schools with the Enhanced School Improvement Plan

This descriptive-comparative research was conducted to determine the compliance level of public elementary schools in Bacolod City Division with the Enhanced School Improvement Plan (E-SIP) as assessed by internal and external assessors when taken as a whole and when compared according to school demographics in the major phases of E-SIP development and implementation process. Likewise, it detailed the challenges and actions undertaken in the E-SIP compliance. Using the standardized SIP quality assessment tool, the results revealed a ‘satisfactory’ level of E-SIP compliance as a whole while ‘highly satisfactory’ levels in plan and act phases. It further showed significant differences in preparatory, assess and act phases for both school performance and designation of assessors. The results of the assessment were attributed to varying interpretation of some criteria and the absence of mode of verification in the E-SIP compliance. Hence, a policy recommendation was designed to attain successful E-SIP compliance of public elementary schools.

An Implementation of School Improvement Plan through Results Based Management: A Framework to Practice

A school improvement plan is a “road map” that sets out the changes a school needs to make to improve the level of student achievement, and shows how and when these changes will be made. The objectives of the study were remained as, to identify the practices of Results Based Management (RBM) in relation with the implementation of School Improvement Plan (SIP) on the basis of performance, to explore the perceptions of the heads of schools and Secondary School Teachers (SSTs) about implementation of School Improvement Plan (SIP), to analyze the physical and educational facilitates in school improvement plan. A set of research questions was used to achieve the objectives of the study. The collected data was analyzed by using inferential and deferential techniques of data analysis. The findings and conclusions of the study show that School Improvement Plan is being carried out at secondary schools of Punjab through Result Base Management. It is also revealed that the whole process of school management is revolving around school improvement plan; administration has less training about result base management. Some recommendations are given to synchronize the process to achieve desired objectives of school improvement Plan.