Program Improvement 2

The two guiding principles that are most relevant to creating sustained change in my school are the first two in the chart. The first one is as follows:

"Evaluation and change are highly personal. No claims of 'objectivity' or 'data-driven decision making' can circumvent this reality. People change first, then programs; significant change is never easy. Anticipate emotional responses to evaluation and change. Take time to build relationships." - p. 163

1. What is your relationship with faculty, parents, and administration?  
I am a newer teacher in my school. However, I have reached out and become a sponsor, and this year I am a mentor teacher for a first year teacher. I feel like I have maintained a fairly close relationship both with my administrators and the teachers in my department. I do not work as closely with the other teachers in the school, but my relationship with them is amiable enough to be a good foundation. In terms of parents, I feel like I am getting better and better about maintaining close communication with parents. I focus on the best interests of their children, and several parents seem to recognize that.

2. Can you identify the strengths of all the teachers you work with in the school?
I think that I would be capable of doing this. I can already identify the strengths of many of the teachers that I know and work closely with, based on anecdotal knowledge. We also have a data program and monthly benchmarks in all of the EOI courses, which would be a great place to start in terms of curricular strengths. Additionally, our principals have been very good about dropping into classrooms regularly this year, so I could turn to them to talk about the observations they've made. Finally, of course, I could talk with the teachers about what they think their strengths are. I feel like I could get a good picture of teachers' strengths, since I have so many sources for that information.

3. In what ways have you actively reached out to build a community of learners that is willing to take risks?
Currently, I've only done this in small ways. Last year, I worked with my department to find an approach to teaching writing that we all thought would be effective. This year, I've been more willing to step out of my comfort zone and talk with my colleagues about how we can all approach teaching different topics. Additionally, I am trying to model risk-taking in terms of volunteering for classes I've never taught and participating directly in the district's curriculum alignment. Also, I suppose my coaching practice this year could count?

---

The other guiding principle that is relevant to our school's current situation is as follows:

"The more those who are expected to change are involved in shaping the change process, the more sustainable the change effort will be. Evaluation that is controlled and managed from the outside is far less effective in supporting real change than evaluation that comes from within the system." - p. 163

1. How involved are the faculty in the shaping of current efforts?
I think that the faculty could be more involved. Part of that is the way our evaluation, curriculum development, etc. is structured, and part of that is due to initiative of some faculty members. We are somewhat involved in the evaluation of both teachers and students, but teachers who are not on leadership teams are not really involved in the design process. We try to let teachers have a say in the changes that go on at our school, but the efforts don't seem to be resulting in teachers' true involvement.

2. What are some of the ways you are attempting to bring some of those outside the process more inside the process?
We are creating small committees and having meetings to discuss changes that we can make on our level. We have regular team meetings among small groups of teachers, administrators, and counselors to discuss issues with particular students or groups of students. We also have data meetings within each department to discuss the results of our benchmarks and to discuss how we can tailor both our tests and our instruction in the future.

3. Is there a leadership team taking shape within your school?
Yes, to some degree. We have created a "data program," but there isn't much that goes beyond the data focus. We focus on tracking student performance and progress, and we do regular remediation for struggling students. The ultimate focus is getting students to pass their EOI tests. I would love to see us form leadership teams that go beyond the EOI preparation data.

Questions for you:
1. Do you feel like the guiding principles discussed here are pertinent to your school too? How so?
2. In terms of the guiding principles discussed in chapter 11, what is one that you think would be most relevant to your school's situation? Why?