Standard I: Strategic Leadership
A. School Vision, Mission and Strategic Goals: The school’s identity, in part, is derived from the vision, mission, values, beliefs and goals of the school, the processes used to establish these attributes, and the ways they are embodied in the life of the school community.
Making the Vision, Mission, and School Goals VisibleBoth of the schools that I had the opportunity to learn from during my residency did a great job of expressing the school's Vision, Mission, and Strategic Goals. At Bethesda Elementary one of the first things you see as you are walking up to the school is the banner picture to the right. This banner highlights the school's theme for the year as well as its mission and vision. In addition, the morning announcements are concluded by the announcer reading the vision, mission, and theme for the year. We routinely referred to or incorporated the theme, mission and vision, in our presentations and when addressing the staff or parents in meetings.
At. W.G. Pearson there has been a strong push towards proficiency in order to get out of the states low-performing status. As a subliminal reminder of this goal the school improvement team has put signs up throughout the building and next to each classroom door that says "+23." This number represents our desired increase in proficiency that will ensure we are no longer a low-performing school per the state. Additionally, the principal, magnet coordinator and myself drafted a new magnet poster and have ordered one to go up in the main hallway and a banner for a booth. |
B. Leading Change: The school executive articulates a vision and implementation strategies for improvements and changes which result in improved achievement for all students.
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W.G. Pearson TrailerW.G. Pearson has been labeled a low-performing school per the states designation. In order to get the school out of the low-performing status it was awarded a SIG grant. A requirement of the grant for one of its associated conferences was to make a video/movie trailer showcasing some of the initiatives that are being implemented at the school. We as an academic leadership team created the W.G. Pearson Trailer. This video was intended to increase excitement for the vision we as a leadership team have to increase the performance at the school.
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Academic Growth Stratagies
W.G. Pearson is implementing numerous programs and strategies to grow students' academic proficiency levels. Many of these strategies are targeting specific groups of students to reach our proficiency goals as well as ensure we exceed growth. We have built in an intervention block within the master schedule for each grade level. An additional strategy we have implemented is a remediation plan that uses our support staff and coaches to pull out and work in small groups with targeted students. Targeted grade levels were supported with paid tutors throughout the year to help work with small groups during the instructional day. Prior to our benchmark exams we have been conducting a "Tiger Growl." This review strategy has each grade level determine the standards that need an additional focus across the grade level. The "Tiger Growl" itself involves all the grade level teachers and support staff/coaches working in small groups for a quick intentional review and practice for the identified standards.
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C. School Improvement Plan: The school improvement plan provides the structure for the vision. Values, goals and changes necessary for improved achievement for all students.
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School Improvement Action ReportThroughout my residency I was a member of the School Improvement Teams at both Bethesda and W.G. Pearson. During the team meetings we would discuss items from the improvement plan and how the plan was being met. One such meeting occurred on January 30, 2018 at W.G. Pearson. During this meeting we reviewed the Action Report that was generated during the SIG Grant process for the components of the plan as generated by NC Star. During this meeting we reviewed the existing action plan (provided here) and revised the assigned indicators as a result of staff changes and additions, to include myself.
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D. Distributive Leadership: The school executive creates and utilizes processes to distribute leadership and decision making throughout the school.
SIG Indicator AssignmentsAs part of the SIG grant there are several indicators from the School Improvement Plan that are areas of focus. In order to comply with the grant we have to track all aspects of how the school is addressing the proposed actions that correspond to the indicator. During one of its meetings the school improvement team assigned an indicator to each one of its members. These members are responsible for coordinating with the staff members implementing the actions and to collect artifacts for the SIG grant. The school improvement team chair is responsible for ensuring that all team members, to include administrators, are meeting the deadlines and documentation requirements for the SIG grant and the school improvement plan.
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Math Night - Title I EventOne of my roles at W.G. Pearson Elementary is Title I Coordinator. One of the first events we conducted as a Title I event while I was in my residency at W.G. Pearson was our math night. One of our teachers stepped forward with some ideas for Math Night and interest in leading the event. After hearing her great ideas and discussing the expectations and parameters of the event, she led the coordination and implementation of the event. The event was one of the best attended events in recent history for the school and was complimented by parents, staff, and students.
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