C: Leading Change - Principals solicit input and collaborate with staff and their school community to implement strategies for change and improvements that result in improved achievement and developmental outcomes for all students.
¬ The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. In education, in order to truly get different and improved results, administration must lead meaningful change. One example of how I have led meaningful change at AAHS is through the implementation of BYOD. In order for change to fully take effect, I believe it must become part of the schools mission, vision, and strategic goals. Prior to the 2015-2016 school year, AAHS had few expectations for student
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implementation of technology in the classroom.
As of January 2016, each teacher will use and have students use technology at least once a week in every classroom. It is important to note that the change directly aligns with district initiatives. In the early stages of implementation change, there needs to be process in place for resource allocation and addressing the barriers to change. Before full implementation of BYOD, I sat in with the logistics committee to determine what our barriers to implementing change would be and how we could collectively overcome them. For example, the issue of spotty Wi-Fi came up several times. To overcome this barrier, the team had district technology personnel come out and evaluate the connectivity. Over winter break, the district significantly upgraded the bandwidth and Wi-Fi capabilities. Another early task is having a process for resource allocation. Resource allocation includes time and funding for professional development, funding for purchase of devices for students who cannot afford their own, and purchasing of technology that will be beneficial for each
department and school program. In order to maximize these needs, the team prioritized the list. Through allocating resources and addressing barriers, I was able to see what additional supports needed to be in place in order for change to truly take place. Because many see change as something done to them, our team wanted to get staff on board and create a culture of 21st century learning. In order for any change to be successful, all members of the team need to feel involved and contribute to how the change will look for them. To do this, I met personally, with members from all departments to coach them on how technology could meaningfully be implemented in their classroom. I found that our biggest skeptics were in the physical education program, but we found a free app for them to use that would track student performance in any given physical task. This program would allow for students to set their own performance goals and monitor them daily. Through these coaching secessions, with permission from my administration, I also ensured teachers that at this point utilizing technology in the classroom was all about positive risk taking. I believe that in order for change to happen the culture of the school must advocate for positive risk taking and accept that sometimes things will fail. Through the conversations that I had, I was also able to build strong relationships with staff members. As an administrator, relationships make all of the difference in managing change. It allows you to get a real idea of what is happening, not the answers that people think you expect. After providing professional development and arming department leaders with the tools to initiate change in their areas, the departments took charge of change through the Professional Learning Community framework. I visited several department PLC’s and was able to see the department leaders in action as well as answer any questions and brainstorm positive implementation of BYOD. Implementation change cannot be a one-man or woman job. It truly takes commitment and innovation form many to see successful results.
I had the pleasure of being able to shadow Superintendent Shirley Hall of the Maplewood School District. Ms. Hall took the reins of the district over in 2012 from a very popular superintendent who was credited with making great strides within the district. Although Ms. Hall had very large shoes to fill, she seems to be doing it with grace and enthusiasm. She credits the previous superintendent with making systemic changes and establishing the overall forward momentum of the district, but recognizes that she cannot rest on past success. Her goal is to take the district to the next level of educational excellence by focusing her and her administrative team's efforts on the P.E.L.P. coherence model from Harvard University. This model focuses the leadership's attention on the interdependence of the various aspects of their school district and how they reinforce one another to support the implementation of an improvement strategy. One of Ms. Hall's mantras was change, but not just for change sake, deep change for sustained improvement. Therefore, although Ms. Hall's predecessor was able to put the district on the right path, Ms. Hall has taken the baton and run with it; establishing her own style and path to excellence.
Dr. Tanisha L. Heaston, principal of Treadwell Elementary talks to me about educational change. In my first meeting and interview with her, she displays many if not all the leadership benchmarks of a Change Master and Facilitator. Defined by McEwan (2003), a Change Master is a highly effective principal who is flexible and futuristic. A realistic leader who is able to both motivate and manage change in an organized, positive, and enduring fashion. As a Change Master, she uses a situational approach since every school community requires somewhat different skills. Dr. Heaston respects change resisters, procures resources for her school, and trusts her teams which aligns with ISLLC Standard Six.
In School Leadership that Works Marzano introduces twenty-one responsibilities of a school leader (see Appendix A). These leadership responsibilities are used in the two change orders discussed by Marzano, McNulty and Waters (2005). “Some innovations require changes that are gradual and subtle; others require changes that are dra...
Where do you currently work (and if you aren’t currently working, please think of your last place of employment)? How long have you been there?
Change is when a person does not follow their everyday routine. They may want to try something different, or be forced to. Change can be for the good and the bad. Places can deal with change ranging from the weather, to the animals present, or the seasons changing. Also, objects can deal with change too. Objects like an iceberg can start to melt, or a forest fire can kill many trees in an area. As a human, we are the ones deciding on change. We are in a position to make big decisions and possibly even become a leader in order for change to happen. If one person starts to change, others will follow and hopefully, the change benefits all.
Change is the only constant in life. And therefore it should be understood as part of a continuing work in progress that calls for a much broader canvas that seeks out competing voices, and works with the resulting ambiguities, contradictions and tensions of messy reality (Graetz, F. & Smith, A., 2010). In this submission I try to show that organizational change is majorly based on the environment surrounding it much more than the desire of the members or change agents working in that organization. This view diverts from that of Lippitt, (1958) who suggests that implementing planned organizational changes successfully depends on premeditated interventions intended to modify the functioning of an organization. It also diverts from the traditional approaches to organizational change that generally follow a linear, rational model in which the focus is on controllability under the stewardship of a strong leader or ‘guiding coalition (Collis, 1998). In this discussion therefore, comparison made between the different philosophies of change and I try to show that successful change implantation largely depends on an organizations appreciation of what goes on around it rather than what they have planned as a strategic direction.
Changing situations throughout the world affect all organizations in business today. Therefore, most organizations acknowledge the need to experience change and transformation in order to survive. The key challenges companies face are due to the advancements in technology, the social environment caused by globalization, the pace of competition, and the demands regarding customer expectations. It is difficult to overcome the obstacles involved with change despite all the articles, books, and publications devoted to the topic. People are naturally resistant to fundamental changes and often intimidated by the process; the old traditional patterns and methods are no longer effective.
“BYOD [Bring Your Own Device]…potentially allows school districts to cut [there] IT budgets, possibly helping the movement make inroads there, but BYOD…represents a particularly dangerous trend for multiple reasons” (Geller, 2013).
The consultant should develop scenarios showing what could happen to the company if the change is not implemented, and examine opportunities that could be exploited.
From the definition point of view, a strategic change is defined as a persistent influence focused on the recurrent transformation of one form to another (Wiersema and Bantel, 2012). According to Goodstein (2014), a strategic change is “an inexorable part of both social and organisational life.” Various organisations find hard to implement strategic change due to resistance to change. Most prevalent resistance to change comes from middle managers as compared to the other leadership hierarchy in an organisation. Resistance to change can be better understood when taking into account behaviour change theory. This theory states that, “it can be difficult to get people to change their behaviour, even where there are good reasons
Change is a necessary way of life. It is all around people: in the seasons, in their social environment, and in their own biological processes .Beginning with the first few moments of life, a person learns to meet change by being adaptive. A person’s very first breath depends on ability to adapt from one environment to another. As indicated by the first quotation introducing this essay, each hour is different, offering people new experiences.
The world is constantly changing in many different ways. Whether it is technological or cultural change is present and inevitable. Organizations are not exempt from change. As a matter of fact, organizations have to change with the world and society in order to be successful. Organizations have to constantly incorporate change in order to have a competitive advantage and satisfy their customers. Organizations use change in order to learn and grow. However, change is not something that can happen in an organization overnight. It has to be thought through and planned. The General Model of Planned Change focuses on what processes are used by the organization to implement change. In the General Model of Planned Change, four steps are used in order to complete the process of change. Entering and Contracting, Diagnosing, Planning and Implementing, and Evaluating and Institutionalizing are the four steps used in order to complete the process of change in an organization. The diagnostic process is one of the most important activities in OD(Cummings, 2009, p. 30).
Williams pointed out that all of the key work processes that are in place at this school are researched-based processes that have been proven effective in other districts. There was much time and thought put into making the decision to put these processes in place (Williams, personal communication, 8/17/2016). Some of the processes come as directives or initiatives from the district such as the PLC process. While others come as innovative thinking on the part of the teachers and leaders of the school such as standards-based grading. These key work processes were all agreed upon by the faculty as a necessary processes to help move the school forward. Previous to the three years Mrs. Williams has been principal, there were other processes in place that were not as effective and needed to be replaced. The faculty are committed to these new processes and are seeing much more positive results. The majority of the faculty have determined together that these are the processes they want to use as they prepare for another school year
...udent learning. As a school principal, allowing teachers time to collaboratively plan and work toward the common goal of improving student achievement should be a priority. Taking time to address and measure instructional needs and proficiency is an effective way of not only improving student learning for improving instructional practice. Through all of the changes in education, one thing remains the same. A productive and effective school has effective teachers and is run by an effective principal. Being an administrator for 22 years was not an easy task for Ms. Carson, but one that wouldn’t be changed for the world. Reflecting on this interview, it is apparent that an administrator has many important roles and duties that must be fulfilled. Managing people and data to reach the ultimate goal of student achievement is very rewarding but takes time and effort.
Collaborative leaders have a positive impact in schools. Even though principals are responsible in leading the whole school, those that have the ability to inspire their teachers to follow and share his or her vision, will make a positive impact. Interaction between leader and teacher is necessary to make positive changes. Allowing teachers to participate openly and respectfully creates trust and confidence. Teachers that trust their principals and feel are taken into consideration will work harder to meet and exceed expectations. Honesty, communication, confidence and respect between leader and teacher will lead to great team work.