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In my EDL 610 course, which is Visionary Leadership, we are working on building and assessing school culture. This is meant to be a reflection on the idea of a welcoming school culture and include responses to a series of guided prompts. Those prompts are:
No - failure is not a regular option and experience for scholars at AAS. Our team is dedicated and committed to ensuring the success of our scholars, and we have groups of teams who provide various levels of support. We have a number of supports set-up at AAS. In addition to teachers, we have a counseling team, special education team, and advising team. We have also developed resources for our learning coaches through our Learning Coach Lounge initiative. We also have two (2) new positions this year: Scholar Engagement Coordinator and Scholar Intervention Coordinator. One could actually view the intervention position as a success position, as this individual is dedicated to creating pesonalized support systems for those scholars who need it. We do not have a condition where it is too late to learn. Many of our scholars come in credit deficient, and our teams have resources to assist these scholars. We are also looking at options for credit recovery, such as summer school, in the near future. As the school leader of AAS, I am proud to say we already have a 'never too late to learn' structure. We work hard to understand the needs of our scholars, and provide supports for these scholars. It is not too late, at any point, to learn and grow with AAS. The biggest commitment is on continuing to support our scholars. We will always ensure there are resources to support scholars, from staffing, to systems. We are reviewing options for summer school and credit recovery. We are looking at ways to strengthen Learning Labs and Q&A sessions. We are also looking at how to enhance our Study Hall component to our truancy system. I will always be open to new and creative ideas to support scholars, from staff, to scholars, to parents, to peers. Everyone should and can be successful at AAS. In my EDL 610 course, which is Visionary Leadership, we are working on building and assessing school culture. This is meant to be a reflection on the idea of a welcoming school culture and include responses to a series of guided prompts. Those prompts are:
Schools play a large role in building students' agency and identity. Afterall, a scholar spends a majority of their day in school, with their peers and school staff. A school then becomes a place which models the ability to create agency and identity in a safe environment. I am fully aware of this awesome responsibility that is placed on a school and its staff. In this age of technology, texting, social media, I continue to remind staff that we must model the behavior we hope to see in our scholars. If we LOL in an eMail, we are saying and showing that is OK. (And to me, it is not. An eMail is not a text nor a tweet, and we can use full and complete sentences.) If we expect quick turn-around in communication with our scholars, we too then need to respond in an appropriate timeframe. We are the model. I am lucky to be a school leader. As noted above, I believe in modeling the behavior I hope and expect to see. If I expect a response within 24-hours, I too will give responses within that timeframe. If I expect staff to use their phone, eMail and other forms of communication, I too will be, and have been, using said forms. Model the way. I do not wish to continue to 'punt' to this notion, though I will. Model the behaviors, the responses, so others can learn the way. I am a firm believer in sharing the 'why' on decisions. Translate that to assignments. Share the 'why' for the "B" and how the "A" may have been earned. The biggest commitment is on continuing to be seen as a role model and a model. I do not think it fair to expect something from someone if they cannot expect the same out of me. We have to practice what we preach, live our mission, vision and core values. Otherwise, we will be seen as fakes and phonys, with zero influece. And if we cannot provide a positive influence, what then are we providing? In my EDL 610 course, which is Visionary Leadership, we are working on building and assessing school culture. This is meant to be a reflection on the idea of a welcoming school culture and include responses to a series of guided prompts. Those prompts are:
I believe you make a difference in someone's life offering carrots rather than sticks (to borrow the title of a book we are readying for this class). That is to say, positive reinforcement and modeling the way goes a long was as opposed to punishment and negative enforcement. The key here is modeling the behavior that is expected. My beliefs would be reflected in policies and practices in a number of ways. They would consist of coaching opportunities, reflection exercises and more, to help a scholar understand the impact of what they may have done and to see some of the other solutions that could have been used that would not have caused them harm nor harm to those involved in the situation. The same holds true to program practices and initiatives - staff need to model the behavior we expect to see, of each other and the scholars we serve. This is something I talk about heavily in my current role - a topic discussed earlier this morning actually during our Senior Management Team meeting. The idea of 'Do as I say, not as I do' does not fly with me. "Do as I do" is the correct path to follow. I strongly believe in professional development, and allowing staff the opportunity to learn how to interact with today's youth, coupled with how to interact with today's families, will only strengthen our ability to connect, engage and model positive behavior. We continue to change the culture of our school. We focus on the scholar, on making a positive impact on their life. We are focusing on the notion of strong customer service, of reinforcing good behavior. We are working to model the way and become role models for our scholars. I am happy with the direction we are going, and understand it may take time to complete the change in focus. My commitment is to ensure the resources are available to our staff to be able to better serve and support our scholars. The biggest commitment is on modeling the behavior we expect to see from each other and our scholars. I am also committed to ensuring we have the proper tools and resources to support those we serve. It is also important to review and reflect our current written policies and procedures, to ask for feedback on those and make changes where appropriate. We have to be consistent with our actions, and our words. We have to best serve the unique and individual needs of our scholars, and each other. In my EDL 610 course, which is Visionary Leadership, we are working on building and assessing school culture. This is meant to be a reflection on the idea of a welcoming school culture and include responses to a series of guided prompts. Those prompts are:
1. How is the challenge of making stakeholders feel welcome to your school (or place of work) connected to your school mission? 2. What did you do to assess which stakeholder group (or subgroup) could be more effectively welcomed? And what did you find? 3. Future Sphere of Influence: What would you do to improve welcoming this group if you were the school leader? 4. Current Sphere of Influence: What can you do in your present position to enhance welcoming these stakeholders? Current Sphere of Influence: Commit to 5 things you are willing to do this semester that will make your school a more welcoming place. The mission of AAS is to "inspire and develop innovative, creative, self-directed learners, one scholar at a time." This mission is indeed connected to the notion of making stakeholders feel welcome at our school. In order to build a relationship, at least a positive one which inspires and develops scholars, our staff need to be welcoming to nurture and grow the personal relationships and bonds between them and our scholars. And this is done based on the ending piece of our mission, one scholar at a time. It's personal, it's intentional. And it can only happen and be successful when staff are welcoming to not only the scholar, but the learning coach, family and their peers. I actually read "How to Create a Culture of Achievement In Your Schools and Classrooms" during my trip to San Antonio for the iNACOL Conference. I was inspired by the chapters, and especially the chapter on creating a welcoming environment. I have spoken with my Senior Leadership Team on this piece. and am looking to develop and roll-out a customer service training for all of our staff, including our Enrollment Team. They are the front lines with our prospective families, and really help set the tone in creating a welcoming environment at AAS. There are always opportunities for growth and improvement and we will be focusing on this idea over the next several months, for all staff and enhanced training for targeted departments, including marketing & communications and enrollment. As noted in other posts, I am the school leader, and noted above, am taking steps to help train and develop our staff to provide a welcoming environment. And this environment is not just for prospective scholars and scholars, but our colleagues and community members. This is a big initiative, and one that I announced yesterday during our weekly Senior Management Team meeting with all of our directors. There are a few commitments I am excited to make. First and foremost, to offer trainings to our staff on customer service. The second is to model the behavior that I expect to see throughout the organization. I will also listen, to staff and others, to better understand their needs to help create a welcoming environment in our virtual system. The big piece is on modeling the behavior I'd like to see throughout the organization, and provide coaching to those who do not follow or understand the model. As a former major gifts officer, being donor-centric is still in my blood and I am trying to transform that into being scholar-centric. Figuring out and understanding the needs of the scholar, and doing what I can to ensure those needs are met. This will be one of the many positive things which sets our school apart. Time to model! |
AuthorJ.J. Lewis - a blog sharing my reflection on educational culture in SDSU's MA.EL. EDL 610 course. ArchivesCategories |
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