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School Improvement
School Improvement
The process for school improvement begins well before the official first day of school. School leaders examine the past year's success of executing the vision and mission of the school through the strategic goals outlined in the previous School Improvement Plan (SIIP). The leaders also examine the data from recent benchmarks such as SOL scores, passing rates for classes, absenteeism, and other metrics to determine the current climate of the school.
After analyzing the previous year, the school leaders then work to develop their goals for the upcoming year through the SIIP. The leaders meet with key central office stakeholders to determine if the goals are relevant to the vision and mission of the school, and if so, develop key indicators that can be analyzed throughout the year to determine progress toward achieving the goals.
When the final SIIP is in place, school leaders throughout the year must use the identified indicators to determine if the school vision and mission are being executed through goal achievement.
Managing School Resources
Managing School Resources
In the spring of 2022 I was able to meet with the Director of Instructional Innovation in Chesterfield County to learn more about the budgeting process and how he works to design a zero-based budget. In addition to the budget development paper, two partners from my Longwood Cohort and I worked to compare how the budget is created, delivered to families and the community, and the similarities and differences between Charlottesville City Schools and Chesterfield County Public Schools.
Student Safety and Welfare
Student Safety and Welfare
Now more than ever, it is imperative that school leaders look to provide the safest environment for students both inside and outside the classroom. Procedures must be in place and executed to perfection in order to maintain the safety of each and every student. Below are several student-related safety/welfare items and procedures that must be followed:
Child Protective Services
Child Protective Services
School Personnel are mandated reporters. If they suspect abuse or neglect of a child, they must report this to CPS (Virginia - 804-786-8536)
The person that noticed or witnessed the signs of neglect/abuse should make the call
School leaders should support both the student and reporter as best as possible, and coordinate with CPS to ensure the safety of the child.
Restraint
Restraint
Local school boards are required to create and enforce rules surrounding the restraint of a student, following the Virginia Code
Schools are prohibited from using mechanical or pharmacological restraints, prone restraints (restrict breathing, harm the student), and corporal punishment.
Educational Trends
Educational Trends
As the world looks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, several trends have emerged in the education realm. Although many of these trends may have existed prior to the pandemic, they have continued on and possibly been exacerbated by the state of the world.
Use of Trauma-Informed Care in schools (Waterford.org, 2019)
Mindfulness (Waterford.org, 2021)
Changing our approach to classroom design (Dornfeld, 2016)
Online Schools are here to stay (Singer, 2021)
Impact of COVID-19 on student's academic and mental health (Terada, 2020)
Community & Parent Strategies
Community & Parent Strategies
Schools have to work in partnership with parents and the community in order to create a successful environment for students. There are a plethora of ways that schools can not only partner with both sets of stakeholders but also be a provider back to them. Here are some examples:
Provide Families with a Communities Resource Map (O'Keefe, 2011)
Create an Action Team for Partnerships (ASCD, 2004)
Schools should provide themselves as a resource to the community, but this should be done in an equitable way (if you provide a service for one group, you must provide it for all)
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