Harry Voll, Principal

EDL 7110 Strategies of Educational Leadership Online
Assignment #1

Harry Voll September 1, 2014

While reflecting upon the six ELCC standards and how they relate to the current district practices I am drawn to the evaluation tool that is used by my superiors to evaluate my performance as principal of an elementary school. Visioning, Positive School Culture, Management of staff, facilities, and resources, community engagement, knowledge of the law and the role of a professional community, and using data to make informed decisions are the underlying tenants of the six ELCC standards. These standards are also described in great detail with suggested evidence to show proof of meeting the standard. This is also reminiscent of the rubric that is used to evaluate the performance of the school level administrator in Cincinnati Public Schools. In terms of leadership, these standards as stated previously are very similar. I am sure this not by accident. Given that they are widely known, the evaluation tool used to evaluate must be derived from them. Cincinnati Public Schools has always been on the cutting edge of the latest research in relation to teacher performance and basic standards in practice so it is not surprising to see it in these published standards. Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) looks at leadership as a resource and not only gives its leadership complete autonomy to develop a vision with our local school, but it supports each school’s individual mission but makes sure the mission of the district is broad enough to allow for the individual school’s visions to be aligned to district goals to maximize student achievement and resources that relate to the visions of all. Most district goals in my school system relate to huge initiatives that only enhance local school programs. These initiatives are allowed to be developed locally to make them part of the programs that are already established. The leaders at local levels are given autonomy to weave district level initiatives into their local programs to make them more meaningful. When I think of “vision”, it seems an odd word. I have always used the term “visioning” because it is an active thing. It is an ever changing idea. If you are lucky enough to open a school where everyone has had the opportunity to develop a vision prior to the start of instruction and every adult has the luxury of beginning from a common frame of reference, you are truly in a wonderful place. Most have had to work in a school or district where the vision had already been developed and you were charged with making it not only your emphasis for working, but your goal as well. In either case, there has been ample time for the chance to refine the vision depending upon the school focus or if planned well enough, the time to reflect upon what it being completed and what is aligned to the vision of the district. We are developed locally to assume leadership roles in CPS. You are never going to succeed if you do not have the ability to develop, articulate, implement, steward, and involve the community in your district/school vision development and achievement. In CPS, schools have governing bodies that are comprised of parents, teachers, administrators, and community members known as Local Decision Making Committees (LDSMC). These groups meet monthly or as needed to review and advise the school administration related to the operation of the school’s daily operation as aligned to the school’s vision and academic focus. These elected committees are also the group of people who hire potential new principals when the situation becomes necessary. They have a great deal of influence within each local school. There are district wide LSDMC meetings held at the district office several times a year so that they are given the opportunity to hear specific district level concerns that need to be addressed or are provided professional development to better serve in their roles in the local schools. These groups are required to submit monthly meeting minutes that follow very prescribed agenda components as required by the Ohio Department of Education. This is only one form of accountability required by the district and state. Every facet of instruction must be based in data and designed to improve student performance. In CPS, we have a district wide initiative that is designed to increase the performance of low performing schools. It is called Turn Around. Turn Around schools are given additional academic support from the district in the form of academic coaches who have been given training in the procedures and strategies that haven been proven in data to most effect student achievement. These coaches assist teachers in areas of importance for testing; specifically reading and math. Once we have examined our data and discovered the areas of most significant deficiency, we focus our attention to resolve the problem with the tool kit of interventions that come with the coaches and the collaboration of their efforts. This is not only a way to look at the accountability of the individual staff required to implement the changes necessary to turn around student achievement it is a tremendous way to move students from where they are currently functioning academically to a higher level of understanding and comprehension. The district provides many resources for individual schools to assist with its vision. All schools in CPS are required to have a positive school culture plan. It provides a system of tracking student disciplinary infractions at every level of the disciplinary spectrum. This system enables you to get real data related to the specific infractions of the students in your school. This data along with teacher anecdotal data and observations makes it easier to develop goals for a school district to measure whether or not the efforts of the local school are having any effect on the school culture of an individual building or school. All along the way, at each level, there are built in points of accountability. The Instructional Leadership Team that runs the daily operation of the school with the principal has very strict guidelines as to how it functions. Each LDSMC has a set of governing principals it must obey. All governing groups must submit very strict meeting minutes to the district and state department of education. There is more accountability in place than just about anything. The district provides professional development for developing a PSC Plan as well as an annual audit that contains up to 39 individual areas of evaluation. This audit includes interviews with parents, students, and staff. This is another accountability tool used to evaluate the performance of an individual school and overall district performance. CPS has been on the cutting edge of improving teacher performance having enacting one of the first pay for performance based compensation programs in the country. We have worked with our teacher’s union to put into place an appraisal system that can lead to termination if a teacher is not performing by using a student growth measure as 50% of their evaluation. There has been extensive professional development in engaging teachers who perform less than desired to increase their pedagogy to ultimately increase student achievement. There is accountability but there is also a focus on working with teachers to do better. Our district strives to have administrators who can manage the daily operation of a school within the organization as a whole. We promote those who show the ability to manage people and other resources. Our district shows a great deal of interest in promoting the local school as an individual learning community. Many schools have new community learning centers that promote the school as a center for families and communities as well as places of learning. This initiative is district wide and has also received national acclaim. We use these centers to increase the collaboration with families and other community members. As you have read, there are many forms of accountability paired to the various aspects of the daily operation of a school. From the daily lesson plans looked at by the principal to the very detailed meeting minutes that are required by the state department of education, there are sometimes intricate, detailed submissions that are required by the state that must be sent on a regular basis. All of these items and their constructs are designed to increase student achievement. From the development of a vision, implementation of a positive school culture, managing the operations of a school or district, working with families and communities, and showing everyone by being transparent in your words and deeds all the while building relationships with all stakeholders. These are the behaviors of a school and a school district that are not only the means by which its success are measured they are the tenants of what is necessary to do right by children. By implementing these components, we are showing or ethical responsibility to children and by carrying out these responsibilities with integrity we are doing what is ethical and right within our individual communities. I believe that the Cincinnati Public School District is an outstanding school district based on the Standards for Advanced Programs in Educational Leadership for Principals, Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, and Supervisors.

Bibliography

Standards for Advanced Programs in Educational Leadership for Principals, Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, and Supervisors, National Policy Board for Educational Administration, January, 2002

Bibliography: Standards for Advanced Programs in Educational Leadership for Principals, Superintendents, Curriculum Directors, and Supervisors, National Policy Board for Educational Administration, January, 2002