Enhancing School Effectiveness
In a world of competing, and often conflicting demands, school and district leaders are best prepared to meet the challenges of 21st century learning by developing a framework for action based on three key concepts: alignment, sustainability, and coherence. Effective schools and systems ensure that their resources and efforts are aligned with stated goals: the highest priorities for student success. They commit to areas of focus that are sustainable over time. Too much important work has failed due to key personnel moves or funding cuts. Effective, sustainable initiatives outlast personalities and budget cycles! The third part of the leadership trilogy is coherence. It speaks to the importance of developing goals and strategic plans that make sense and “hold together” with the rest of the system. Any educational change that has architecture only making sense to the original designer is doomed to fail.
The Enhancing School Effectiveness workbook is a resource I developed and refined over the past several years. I will refer to parts of it in various blog posts and the “attributes tool” is included in the multi-media section, titled Leadership and the Learning Community. Just for context, know that it is designed to clarify focus and expand ownership among members of a school’s professional community. Good and improving schools engage in processes, in spite of the “tyranny of the urgent” to identify current levels of success and to declare a commitment to targeted improvement. The process overview in the workbook and the related School Review instrument are intended to help good schools focus on their most important work, the skillful interventions that educators make to enhance students’ life chances: – every child, every chance, every day.
The Enhancing School Effectiveness workbook is a resource I developed and refined over the past several years. I will refer to parts of it in various blog posts and the “attributes tool” is included in the multi-media section, titled Leadership and the Learning Community. Just for context, know that it is designed to clarify focus and expand ownership among members of a school’s professional community. Good and improving schools engage in processes, in spite of the “tyranny of the urgent” to identify current levels of success and to declare a commitment to targeted improvement. The process overview in the workbook and the related School Review instrument are intended to help good schools focus on their most important work, the skillful interventions that educators make to enhance students’ life chances: – every child, every chance, every day.