Exam week is here for our Grade 7-12 students and we are greeted by a blizzard! Buses are not running and some students are unable to make it to write their exams. Oh well, the life of an educator never seems to go according to plan, does it?
In terms of school planning, my school division held a meeting in December with numerous stakeholders to determine a priority area that the entire division would focus on next school year. All schools, division-level administrators, and board members had an opportunity to vote on eight proposals with the results determining the direction all 39 schools in the division would focus on for their first school improvement (SIP) goal next year. Of the proposals that received the 2nd and 3rd highest votes, a school staff would have the opportunity to choose one of the areas for a second SIP goal. Finally, schools could create a 3rd SIP goal in any area of their choosing, if they wished.
Well the results are in and the focus area for all of our schools next year will be assessment and reporting practices. The second and third options are math improvements and early childhood education, respectively. I think that the division's plan to have all of our schools focus on a major goal is a good one as it will allow the division to provide resources to schools and develop system-wide initiatives that school staffs can use to improve their practice in the area of assessment and reporting. In terms of my school, we have already had discussions around the area of assessment and reporting and have made some changes in those areas already to match best practice research so in that sense I am glad that this is a division priority. My concern is that assessment was not in the top five votes of proposals that we submitted. In order for a SIP goal to be effective and for a staff to be committed to it, support for the goal must be present. My fear is that, because assessment and reporting was not an initial priority for my staff, I will not receive full commitment from my staff. Previous school goals were set at the staff level based on the needs of the school. The division's goal setting initiative means that my staff might feel our SIP goal is being imposed in a top-down fashion and buy-in will not occur or, if buy-in occurs initially, keeping momentum towards improvement in the area of assessment might be difficult.
Only time will tell if my concerns turn out to be valid. Personally, I am excited about the direction my division has gone in terms of assessment and reporting as I feel students will become more confident in taking risks in their learning knowing that a teacher's evaluation plan allows for students to make mistakes and have the opportunity to re-learn and improve upon their work. Again only time will tell if my optimism holds true.
Have a good one.
KH
Hi Kevin. I hear what you are saying. We are working very hard on assessment in our division right now as well and some staff are totally on board and wanting to move forward and others are not at all interested in moving foward. I remember Todd Whitaker saying to focus on the superstars and hope that you can move everyone else along with you, so keep forging ahead. Hopefully time will show your concerns were unnecessary. Good Luck.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to mention that last week when you talked about your four quick phrases/words - be there etc., I just loved it. Quite interested in looking into the fish philosophy was it?
Talk soon
krista
Yes Krista I believe it is fish philosophy, but I heard the phrases from someone and they just stuck with me. The phrases are "Play, Be There, Make Their Day, and Choose Your Attitude". I have a poster hanging in my office to remind me every morning and I rarely have a day without a few laughs along the way.
ReplyDeleteKH
Hey, Kevin.
ReplyDeleteYour post brings up some important points about school goals. There are ALWAYS those two competing priorities - 1)reducing the number of goals to focus your energy and 2)allowing people at the grassroots of the organization to direct their own learning. Both perspectives are so important. The challenge is, exactly how you have explained, getting the general membership to buy-in to the organizations goals. How can we make them more attractive? How can you lead your staff to discover the reasons that they need to spend 'more' time working on assessment? What's in it for them? How do they fit?
Good points. I hope you bring this issue to the discussion in our class. It would be interesting to hear the various perspectives about the proactive approach you might be able to take.
Jackie
I have been reading up on the fish philosophy....this is one for me to embrace.
ReplyDeleteOur school division is also taking on assessment as a new goal. It sure is a big undertaking! Next year the division is planning on taking the "bull by the horns" so to speak and we hope to get a divisional policy in place. Currently, I am on the committee that is reviewing all sorts of literature on assessment. It is a time grueling event, but I think we are on the right path to planning as a team.