McElroy 1
Vision-The principal has a personal vision for the school and the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop, articulate and implement a shared vision that is supported by the larger organization and the school community.
· Describes how to develop and implement a shared vision and strategic plan for the school
· Works with staff, students and families to achieve the school’s vision
· Describes how instructional objectives, curricular goals and the shared vision relate to each other
· Allows time for the achievement of goals
· Identifies needs that will be targeted in the shared vision and strategic plan
· Communicates the school’s vision, mission and priorities to the community
· Understands the basic concepts of the change process
· Is aware that external influences have impact upon the school
· Establishes plans to accomplish goals
· Relates the vision, mission, and goals to students
· Understands the effect of having a community of learners working together
· Articulates and reinforces the vision in written and spoken communications
An educational leader must posses a vision for learning that encompasses the goals of schooling which psychologists and sociologists agree upon: academic achievement, effective work habits, civic values, social behavior, self-esteem, self-reliance (Owens & Valesky, 2007, p. 20). These goals have inherent importance in the success of learning which occurs in the school. Educational leaders must be flexible and adaptable to the changing needs of our students, schools, and society. Society is ever-changing through the emergence of new knowledge regarding human existence and technological advancements. Continually emerging knowledge impacts learning thus impacting the focus goals of school leaders. Schools must grow and change with the community they serve. Educational leaders must strive for a vision of the school that seeks to be engaged in infinite process of change and development (Owens & Valesky, 2007, p. 22).
Many authors have published books on achieving a vision that will stand the test of time. With this vision, leaders must address methods for developing values, beliefs, and principles to guide them into the future instead of merely developing responses to urgencies often termed “putting out fires”. Two books that have been particularly helpful to me are 7 Habits of Highly Successful People by Stephen Covey (artifact #2) and Good to Great by Jim Collins (artifact #1). The first two habits discussed in Covey’s book address visioning. When developing a vision, leaders must “Be Proactive”. Good leaders do not simply put out fires all day. They must have insight into potential problems and have a plan in place. Educational leaders must always look to the future realizing what would be best for the school; Covey terms this method “Begin with the End in Mind”. Collins advices a leader whom is designing a vision to “face the brutal facts” and analyze what they are best at in the world. Through my professional readings, I internalized these concepts when I participated in school’s visioning process.
For two years, I have assisted in writing our school improvement plan (SIP), termed Student Success Plan (SSP) in Charlotte County (artifact #4). This process is tedious but significant to the funding of our school; therefore we use a participative leadership method when writing the plan. Teachers and parents from all avenues of the school are part of the team. This team approach is commensurate with System 4 of Likert’s Management Systems Theory (Owens & Valesky, 2007, p. 122). The format of our plan focuses on being proactive. We establish our “Big Rocks” for the year then determine the methods for achieving them (Covey, 1989). Our Big Rocks were focused on the end result. Through this process, we established our school’s strengths and its weaknesses. Our team had to face the brutal facts surrounding test scores, parental involvement, parent and student climate surveys, and various other data presented. All these concepts were essential to the successful first year of our plan. The second year began and ended much of the same way. The difference lay in the visioning for the next five years. With our first plan, we were unsure of our success; however the second year we were able to determine our strengths and build on them in years to come. The knowledge I gained by reading School Leadership that Works (artifact #8) contributed to my participation on the SSP team (Marzano, 2005). According to Marzano, at this level our school is undergoing a second-order change. School leaders at this level must focus on seven of twenty-one responsibilities: knowledge of curriculum, instruction, and assessment; optimizer; intellectual stimulation; change agent; monitoring/evaluating; flexibility; ideals/beliefs (2005). Recognizing our focus for the upcoming year, we left the room with a plan which addressed where we are and where we are going.
Another major visioning accomplishment was during my practicum experience as administrator of the Summer Reading Academy (SRA). This program was four weeks in length with the intent to remediate reading skills in all participants. The vision of SRA was to remediate students’ reading deficiencies. My vision encompassed not only meeting their reading needs but in addition building their self-esteem and involving their parents in their learning. Through the guidance of my mentoring administrator, I realized the essentiality of establishing a student handbook (artifact #5) and planner (artifact #6) for SRA. The student handbook outlined expectations and procedures for the entire program. The planner required a parental commitment to SRA. We asked that each student read for thirty minutes a night and a parent signature was required to prove it was completed. Students had daily access to the school library as well as the Title One Reading Room where each student received a free book for their personal library when they checked out books. The SRA handbook and planner served as a valuable tool for outlining the vision of SRA.
One cannot speak about a principal’s vision for a school without discussing the school’s organizational health. As stated in a recent study, “healthy schools adapt themselves to the environment successfully and promote common values in their staff (Korkmaz, 2006). Matthew Miles listed specific indicators of organizational health: goal focus, communication adequacy, optimal power equalization, human resources utilization, cohesiveness, morale, innovativeness, autonomy, adaptation, and problem-solving adequacy (Owens & Valesky, 2007, p. 246). These indicators are impacted by the leadership of the school. The school leader must portray the shared vision not a personal vision to achieve a robust school vision (Korkmaz, 2006). A school leader’s personal vision has to be an ethical one placing students above personal gain, being willing to cooperate for the good of the organization. Recent research on the relationship between organizational health and a robust school vision supports a positive relationship between teacher’s perception of organizational health and their perception of a robust school vision. Collegial leadership and academic emphasis have a direct correlation to the robust vision. (Korkmaz, 2006) This research affects my visioning and causes my leadership style to significantly impact the organizational health. A healthy school must have a healthy vision statement which includes participation from all the members and a buy-in that is appreciated by all members.
Both of my practicum experiences were vastly different in relation to organizational health. My home school has a positive organizational health. Thus it is easy to see how all the school leaders, including myself, contribute to the school vision. In contrast, Summer Reading Academy is a compilation of teachers from across the district thrust together for four weeks. It was essential to me to establish a shared vision right from the start. On our first day together, we began with an icebreaker activity which served a two-fold purpose: introducing each member of the team and creating an atmosphere of teamwork (artifact # 9). The leadership team shared the expectations for teachers and students through a PowerPoint presentation (artifact #10) at our one and only faculty meeting. This communication was vital for establishing the relationship of trust and respect that must be present for the team to achieve the vision of Summer Reading Academy. The meeting took a bit longer than expected but it was worth every minute. Many issues that generally arise during these compilations of different staff members were not present during SRA. I whole heartedly believe it was because we created a vision, achieved buy-in from the staff, and adhered to the vision through all our actions.
One of the pivotal activities of a school leader is to continually state where we are and where we are going (Owens & Valesky, 2007, p. 283). The approach in which a leader goes about this task should be shared leadership, involving all members of the organization. School Based Management (SBM) is one method I have seen produce positive results. The School Based Management Team represents the entire organization thus their mission is to support the school vision. As principal, I would rely heavily on the Team to exemplify the school vision through reflective practices. I recognize that I must develop a deliberate direction for the school which I convincingly demonstrate to the school. I aspire to be a transformational leader by engaging in the common vision for the school. One productive method for being a transformational leader is the Total Quality Management (TQM) Method. William Glasser emphasizes that leaders manage things while they lead people (1998). Things such as finances and inventories can be managed but people need to be led. My foundation in TQM became apparent to me during an analysis of a new administrator in one of my classes (artifact #7). My beliefs are firmly rooted in leading by example. As a school leader, I must believe unequivocally in the school vision and accordingly demonstrate my belief through my words and actions. Through such methods as TQM, I can transform to the highest level of leadership, moral leadership (Owens & Valesky, 2007, p. 282).
As a school leader, I will maintain a personal vision for my school through such theories as 7 Habits of Highly Successful People and Good to Great. My vision for a school will illuminate a feasible picture of what the school can become in the future based on the current needs of the school. I will further my knowledge, skills, and dispositions in order to develop, articulate and implement a shared vision that is supported by the larger organization and the school community through such methods as Total Quality Management and School-Based Management. I will continue my professional development and readings to stay current with research to ensure I evolve as a leader as our society changes and grows.
References
Collins, J (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the leap... and
others don't. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Covey, S (1989). The 7 habits of highly successful people. New York, NY:
Simon and Schuster.
Glasser, W (1998). The quality school - managing students without coercion. New York, NY: HarperCollins Pubishers, Inc.
Korkmaz, M (2006). The relationship between organizational health and robust
school vision in elementary schools. Educational Research Quarterly, 30, Retrieved June 24, 2007, from http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1137712031&clientId=8631&RQT=309&VNMW=PQD
Marzano, R., Waters, T., & McNulty, B. (2005). School leadership that works:
from research to results. Aurora: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning.
Owens, R. G. & Valesky, T. C. (2007). Organizational behavior in education:
Adaptive leadership and school reform (9th ed). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.