The 2010 National Conference on Education, sponsored by the America Association of School Administrators (AASA), offered an array of exciting and provocative workshops and speakers that provided best practices for educators as well as news on current legislation related to education. One prominent theme that stood out–because there were a lot of workshops and speakers on the topic and these workshops were overflowing in attendance–was continuous improvement.
Strategic Planning and Continuous Improvement
The quality movement is making its way into education with remarkable results in a short period of time. The best practice workshops on this topic featured schools that are generating consistent improvement in student achievement over time. Key themes in these workshops were:
- Aligning strategic planning and action at all levels in a school system.
- Creating only a few, sharply FOCUSED strategic goals (2-3), which generate many well focused action items within schools and classrooms.
- Making all goals SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable (but a stretch), Realistic and Time-sensitive.
- Using formative measures that allow teachers and students to track their success all along the way. (It’s too late to make adjustments if you only take measurements at the end of the term.)
- Creating professional learning communities that help teachers share best practices and support one another’s success.
- Engaging in regular cycles of action learning: Plan, implement, measure, adjust, and monitor (the formative assessment piece); this is what helps teachers and students keep themselves on track for achieving their goals.
- Making sure professional development is aligned with goals and offers a direct impact on student achievement.
The Challenge: Positive Relationships and a Positive Environment
Implementing this kind of continuous improvement process in schools (or anywhere) can be a challenge. Fear can block the willingness to take risks, ask questions, and be transparent. No one wants to feel stupid or exposed. Success hinges on positive relationships–especially between school administration and teachers–a positive environment, and a focus on results.
The creation of a positive environment and positive relationships begins with the administrative leadership. Superintendents, Principals and Vice Principals who encourage learning at all levels make it safe for teachers to be transparent, share what’s working, ask for support, and take risks in the classroom. When leadership encourages everyone to work together to discover what is working, rather than point out failures, learning flourishes.
What would this look like in a teacher conversation? They might ask, “What’s happening for high achievers that is supporting their success and how can we spread that to all our students?” These kinds of questions generate a distinctly different environment than questions such as, “Why are your kids failing, what are you doing wrong?”As Doug Reeves says, “Go on a treasure hunt, not a witch hunt!”
Learn more about the impact of creating a positive learning environment
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