Leadership for Accountability: Course Relfection by Federico Quintana (2012)

Think about your action plan from the Application assignment. What have you learned in this course about the continuous campus improvement cycle that will dictate your next steps?

What will be your next steps in the continuous improvement process? How will you carry the action plan forward and maintain momentum? Outline and reflect on your next steps in this process.

“Move forward in time to the end of the school year. Imagine that you and your staff implemented the action plan, which resulted in increased student performance on the latest Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) reports. Your campus has moved a step closer to becoming Exemplary, and you want to maintain the momentum. What will you do now?” 

Federico A. Quintana This course has provided me valuable lessons in techniques for gathering data information and using data to develop a solution to address any area of concern regarding students’ educational achievements and overall campus’ health.  There are many research-based tools for collecting and using data to identify areas of improvement in students’ academic and test performance. Using data on students’ tests and overall campus performance gives us the opportunity to identity areas needing improvement to fill the gaps in student achievements and then develop the action plan for on-going improvements in our campus. However, it should not be the only criteria to evaluate their progress. Even though my campus, Memorial High School, according to AEIS report, is rated “academic acceptable,” our job as administrators is to continue joining efforts to improve our campus in order to maintain momentum.  The next steps for continuous campus improvement cycle in our campus are to identity any areas that are in need for improvement by studying data information collected through appropriate research-based techniques. Then, I will develop and implement the action plan for improvement on our campus. The action plan will include (once again) research-based tools to develop a rigorous professional development trainig for teachers and administrators. This class provided me with valuable tools to put together an effective professional development by incorporating a “Team Dialogue Guide” and reflection guide (both tools are similar to assessments for evaluating data and determining the most effective steps for addressing concerns). Thomas wrote, “…the team emerges from the data analysis process with a clear plan of action for identified students and for class instruction…” (p. 42). He also wrote, “The reflection guide included in this article is a helpful tool for team members to analyze the current status of curriculum, instruction and assessment and to identify instructional changes for the next unit” (p. 42); this data analysis tool is beneficial for a school team to explore the ineffectiveness and effectiveness of instructional practices and curriculums. The benefits of “Team Dialogue Guide” and reflection guide in professional staff development is to provide teachers an opportunity to share input on student’ tests score improvements. This could be accomplished by sorting through data to identify areas of needed improvement. In general, the meetings would include discussion on data regarding students’ tests and overall campus performance to meet state standard requirements; this can be overwhelming and time-consuming.  Using the two guides Thomas provides, would bring about great relief for this data-driven dilemmas. These tools can help open dialogue with teachers and promote collaboration on data analysis of students’ achievements by presenting subgroups students’ academic performance and attendance rates. The data will be presented in a systematic way to point out strengths and weaknesses with combined data sources, and the factors contributing to low performance scores would be explained clearly. I would then provide recommended actions for improvementing, and opening the floor to input from the meeting participants. Additionally, on-going professional development for educators and administrators is also a key for continuous campus improvement cycle to thrive the excellence quality of education for every individual student. The last step, I will use formative assessment to monitor the students’ performance and ensure that an action campus plan is in the place.  Dylan William from “Changing Classroom Practice” explains the role of formative assessment as a professional tool to promote teachers into action by using formative assessments for student performance, “Meeting regularly in teacher learning communities is one of the best ways for teachers to develop their skill in using formative assessment” (William, p. 36).School leaders should use formative assessment as part of their action plans when they see challenges or issues. As William suggests, “Formative assessment has the power to produce unprecedented improvements in student achievement in our schools” (p. 39). Using formative assessment will help me evaluate my campus and students’ performances for efficacy. However, formative assessment is a cynical process that requires a length of time as William emphasizes: “Don’t treat formative assessment as just this year's quick fix” (p. 39). This course helped me gain a greater understanding of the necessity of effective data collection and use, along with various guidelines, implementing action tools to improve students’ academic performances. References: Thomas, R. S. (2006). How to survive data overload. Principal Leadership, 7(2), p. 42. William, D. (2007-2008). Changing Classroom Practice. Educational Leadership, 65(4), p. 36-41.