Introduction
Eastern Hills Elementary School is in dire need for a change and Principal
Jones has been appointed to help. Eastern Hills’ fourth and sixth grade students
take the state proficiency test and five years in a row the school has scored the
lowest in the state. Mr. Jones has been put in place to get the test scores up for the
fourth and sixth grade. Many of the teachers at Eastern Hills are tenured teachers
and most are resistant to change. There is no money in the budget for professional
development workshops. Mr. Jones has to depend on the expertise of some staff
members that have attended workshops in order to educate the rest of the staff on
their training. In addition, Mr. Jones also has to get the resistant teachers on one
accord. He also needs the help of the parents, students, and community members to
help with instructional planning. In order to get the parents, students, and
community members he will have to work hard to convince them to become a part
of Eastern Hills School. The parents and the community have not been a part of the
school for some time. Mr. Jones is charged with the task of raising the test scores in
reading and language and he will need the help of the teachers, parents, and the
community to make this happen. He must rely on creative ways to enhance the
curriculum without incurring any debt. In addition to worrying about opposition
from the teachers Mr. Jones has to also worry about violating union contracts. The
tenured teachers know their rights under the contract and will not do any extra
work that does not fall under the guidelines of their contracts. This task will prove
to be difficult, but once the goal is met everyone involved will feel accomplished.
Vision and Mission Statement
The mission of Eastern Hills Elementary School in partnership with its
children, families, and community guarantees each child a superior education by
providing quality instruction and challenging experiences in a safe and orderly
environment, which will foster life-long learners and responsible citizens.
The vision of Eastern Hills Elementary School is committed to creating a
community of life-long learners who will be responsible citizens in a global society.
Each student will be given the opportunity to achieve according to his or her
ability. This mission is statement is making sure that the parents, students and
community are involved in each student’s success. Eastern Hills lacks the support of
the parents and community and this mission statement involves both of them.
The vision statement will be posted on the school website, the marquee
outside of the school, a letter home to the parents and in businesses in the
community that promise to be active participants in the school. The vision is related
to the School Improvement Plan because in order to create a community of life-long
learners the teachers will have to change their teaching style and start teaching to
the children and not for themselves. They will have to step outside of their comfort
zone and implement new strategies to reach the students. The funds needed to get
Eastern Hills Elementary School funded will come from fundraising, selling ads in an
ad book, and creating a grant writing committee. The help of the parents, staff,
community and students will be needed in order to steward the mission.
Description of Stakeholders
In order to get the parents involved in the instructional planning the school
will ask for parent volunteers to help in the school with lunch, grading papers, or
making copies. Parents can also help with tutoring if they feel comfortable the
subject matter. If the parents are seen in the school this might motivate the
students to take pride in their school. To get the students involved there will be
team-building workshops led by the teachers. If the students are involved in team
building activities they will learn to work with one another and not against one
another.
A lot of times the community feels that they don’t play a big role in school
setting, but in this school improvement plan they will be involved. As a group the
entire school would go to the auditorium in the morning for Harambee (means let’s
pull together). At Harambee the students will hear motivational quotes and students
will be recognized for positive behavior they displayed they day before. In addition,
a community member will read a book to the students then the students will ask the
community member questions about their occupation. This morning prep would
encourage the students to have a positive day and expose them to jobs that the
community members hold. Also, a job fair or career day would get the community
members to feel like they are apart of the school because they are instilling
knowledge in the children about their careers. The incorporation of other programs
such as DARE would get the police involved and teach the students about the effects
of drugs. The Fire Department could come in during health classes to and help the
teacher teach the students about CPR and First Aid.
Another group whose help will be needed is the Gifted and Talented
Program. This group is use to teaching students at a higher level and if they
incorporate some of their strategies into the regular classroom maybe some of the
students will rise to the occasion and try harder. The students in this program could
also help with peer tutoring and they would get a reward quarterly for helping the
other students. The staff members are the most important key to the success of
Eastern Hills Elementary School.
A way for teachers to become more proactive is to integrate an incentive
program for teachers that increase their ABC rate. The teachers would have an
assembly that would recognize the teachers who had a high percentage of A’s, B’s,
and C’s. Team Teaching is another way for staff to get involved in the success of the
students. Staff members that are trained in team teaching can do a workshop on
Team Teaching. If team teaching were integrated the teaching load for the teachers
would be shared which would take some stress off of them. Finally, early dismissal
days where each grade level can meet and collaborate on strategies that are working
in their class. The sharing of ideas involves each and every teacher because one
teacher might have a better way of teaching something. The involvement of parents,
students, community members, the gifted and talented, and the staff member will
build a community focused on learning and helping the students achieve success.
When the students see all of these people concerned about their learning the
students will be motivated to learn. The morale of the school will sky rocket when
everyone becomes involved and they are playing a role in getting the test scores up.
SWOT Analysis
During the SWOT analysis the internal strengths were assessed. Now that Mr. Jones
is a part of Easter Hills Elementary School the school will be geared towards
academics. The past two principals were concerned with discipline and the gifted
and talented program. Mr. Jones is concerned with all of the students succeeding.
He has a passion to make instruction better than what it is. Next, the staff is
considered an internal strength because there is a group of teachers willing to lead a
workshop on the strategies that they learned at the university. They will get an
instructional committee together to discuss the strategies they learned and teach
the other teachers how to incorporate them into the classroom. Another internal
strength is the gifted and talented program. The school can use the teachers and the
students in that program to help with tutoring or the teachers of the program can
lead a workshop on strategies used in the gifted and talented program. The turn
over rate at the school is extremely low and this is another internal strength. The
students aren’t getting exposed to a variety of teaching styles and a consistent staff
builds trust between the students and staff. The staff has 15 years of experience at
the school. Finally, the class sizes are not overwhelming. In the kindergarten class
the teacher has 25 students with an aide.
The weaknesses that were noticed during the SWOT analysis deal with the
teachers, which can be an internal strength as well as a weakness. The average
teacher’s tenure is 15 years this can be a problem because the teachers will not be
willing to compromise their teaching style. In the scenario Mrs. Walker said, “I don’t
believe we can change the way we teach math; many of our students simply cannot
learn the reasoning problems” (Green, page 218). The new strategies might
frustrate the teacher’s traditional style of teaching and they will give up on trying
the new strategy. The next weakness at Eastern Hills Elementary School is the gifted
and talented teachers versus the traditional teaching teachers. The gifted and
talented teachers are secure with their students’ progress so they are not willing to
give up their power and start collaborating with the traditional teachers.
Currently at Eastern Hills Elementary students are grouped based on their
ability and this is causing a weak area at the school. If students are placed in
heterogeneous groups the lower achieving students might rise to the occasion and
begin trying harder. While students are in ability grouping classes they are more
complacent and no one will raise the bar. Another weakness is the parents might
oppose changing the groups from homogeneous to heterogeneous. Parents might
feel like their child will be set up to fail because the standards will be raised.
The next, weakness at this school are the discipline and attendance
problems. The two principals before Mr. Jones were concerned with the discipline
problems rather than the academics. Mr. Jones needs to change the atmosphere in
the school. The students will resist the focus on academics because they are use to
being disciplined. Finally, the attendance is affecting the test scores. If the students
are not at school then they can’t receive instructional teaching. In order to get
students to school the parents have to make sure that their child is in school each
and everyday. Parents play a big role in both the discipline and attendance
problems. Parents need to teach their children the appropriate way to act in school
and that school is a learning environment and not a playground.
The external analysis of Eastern Hills Elementary School showed the
opportunities that the school have are getting a Grant writing committee. The
committee would generate funds that can be used in the school. In turn, when the
school gets the funds the school can purchase computers for a computer lab. The
computer lab will expand the students and teachers use of technology. Students will
be able to use programs where they can do self-tests in areas of language and
reading. The school would also be able to purchase software where students can be
re-taught lessons so they can get a deeper understanding. To keep the children
motivated using this software there are games used as rewards. Finally, team
building activities for the staff. Team building will help the staff to learn how to
work together; this will prepare them for team teaching. Teaches will learn that
they don’t have to just depend on themselves, but can work cohesively with other
staff members. If the staff is working as a unified force the students will pick up on
their teamwork and it will rub off on the students. Also, the teachers could do
incorporate team-building activities in their classroom. Finally, the external threats
are the funds that the school desperately needs. Without funds it makes it harder to
incorporate programs and be able to compensate teachers for their extra time. This
in turn discourages the teachers from doing extra work because they will not be
paid. The parents play an important role and their lack of support threatens the
schools progress. Since the parents aren’t involved the students feel like they don’t
have to be involved either. In order to complete the SWOT analysis Mindtools
questions were used as well as the SWOT analysis framework. The teacher, students
and parents will have a shared vision by working together.
Action Plan
Within the action plan effective instruction needs to be addressed. The
Marzano book addresses different strategies teachers should use in their
classrooms. The Marzano book will inform teachers about the use of homework and
practice. Homework is meant to be an extension of school day. Homework should
be something that students practiced in the classroom. They should not be given
homework based on something that they haven’t learned. Students also need to be
given the opportunity to practice. Practice takes time; it takes upward 24 times of
practice before a student achieves a mastery level. The Marzano book will also help
with best practice for student learning. Teachers will be able to incorporate graphic
organizers that will help deepen the students’ comprehension. The areas that need
to be addressed are the areas of Reading and Language. There is a constant decline
in the scores from the fourth grade to the sixth grade. In addition to addressing
these areas Materials, Resources, and Technology needs to be incorporated. The
following are necessary to help the students’ progress:
Materials: updated textbooks, flip charts
Resources: DVD’s, Books on CD’s, Magazines (National Geographic, Highlights, High
Interest Readings)
Technology: Computers, Document Reader, Projector, Overhead, and SMART Board
Goals of the Action Plan:
1. Incorporate Effective Instruction and Best Practices by using Marzano book
and learning the different strategies.
2. Hire two or 3 teachers that are skilled in Reading and Language to raise the
test scores.
3. Create a Grant Committee to get the necessary funds for materials, resources,
and technology.
4. Evaluate the current materials and resources that are available to the staff
and students. Research materials used at high performing schools in order to
raise the reading and language scores.
Operational Plan
The goals of the action plan will be implemented by many of the stakeholder
in the Eastern Hills community. The teachers on the staff will be responsible for
setting priorities in the implementation the instruction plans; the principal will be
responsible for facilitating conflict resolutions, the teacher will collaborate in the
process of making a timeline for the implementation of the new plans, and the
principal will be direct the committee for formulating a budget for this instructional
planning.
Strategies and Activities for Students
Strategies
and
Activities
Create
Instructional
Committee
Teachers
assigned a
strategy from
Marzano
Teacher discuss
pros and cons
to strategy
Choose a
Strategy for the
Month
Positive
Behavior
Intervention
Support (PBIS)
Timeline
Start Date
Budget
Fund
Sources
End Date
Before,
During,
After
School
Amount
Aug 2009
May 2010
During
N/A
0.00
Aug 2009
May 2010
During
N/A
0.00
September 2009
May 2010
During
N/A
0.00
September 2009
May 2010
During
N/A
0.00
August 2009
May 2010
During
Grant
10,000
Strategies and Activities for the students will be going on throughout the
year. The instructional committee will be created in August in order to get in place
strategies that the teachers will implement in their classrooms. The teachers will be
assigned a strategy that they will incorporate in the classroom. In the classroom the
teachers will reinforce the usage of the strategy for a month. After the month is over
the teachers will reconvene at a staff meeting in September. The teachers will
discuss in groups of 3 or 4 the instructional strategy they were assigned. They will
discuss the pros and cons to the strategy. After talking with their groups everyone
will vote on which strategy they want to incorporate into the classroom during the
month of September. By everyone using the same instructional strategy this will
ensure that everyone is on the same page of getting the test scores up. A different
strategy will be incorporated each month.
In addition to a strategy being incorporated to help the students a reward
system will be set up. Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) will attempt to
promote positive behavior from the students. Teachers will be given tickets and
they will be able to distribute them to the students that exhibit positive behavior. At
the end of each month there will be a raffle and a winner will be chosen and they
will receive a prize. PBIS will also offer conflict resolution that will be lead by
students under the direction of a staff member. The incorporation of this program
will need money in order to buy prizes and pay the staff member.
Professional Development Strategies and Activities
Timeline
Budget
Strategies
and
Activities
Start
Date
Note taking

practice
Aug
2009
May
2010
Graphic

Organizer

Study

Aug.
2009
May
2010
Homework

/Practice

Aug
2009
May
2010
During School
0.00
Reading

Instruction

Review
Aug
2009
May
2010
During School
Title I
1,500
Language
 Arts
Instruction

Review
Aug
2009
May
2010
During School
Title I
1,500
End
Date
Before, During,
or After School
During School
Fund
Source
Amount
0.00
0.00
During School
Professional Development Strategies and Activities for staff will include note
taking, graphic organizer, homework and practice strategies being presented. There
are three staff members that attended a workshop on strategies at the university
and they will be able to present these strategies to the students. If the teachers
learn that with note taking the students learn the gist of what they have read. If the
students learn about graphic organizers then they will be able to use different
organizers to understand information. Homework and practice is another strategy
that the staff can use and know the correct way to assign homework.
There are three job openings at Eastern Hills Elementary School. When Mr.
Jones hires three new teachers he needs to hire teachers that are skilled in Language
Arts and Reading. If he hires teachers with this type of experience then he can
utilize them in leading professional development for the staff.
Parent Involvement Strategies and Activities
Timeline
Strategies
and
Activities
Budget
Start
Date
End
Date
Before, During, or
After School
Volunteer

Nights


Aug
2009
May
2010
After School
Classroom

Tutoring

Aug
2009
May
2010
During School
Room

Parenting



Aug.
2009
May
2010
During School
Reading
 to
Classes

Aug
2009
May
2010
During School
Fund
Source
Amount
N/A
None
N/A
None
N/A
None
N/A
None
Parental Involvement Strategies and Activities are important to the school
because Eastern Hills needs their support. In an attempt to get the parents involved
volunteer nights will be incorporated when there are after school activities going on.
Parents can also become classroom tutors in order to help the students raise their
test scores. The parents will be asked to tutor in a subject that they are comfortable
in tutoring. Room Parents will be situated in classrooms and they will help the
teachers if they need a bulletin board put up, copies made, or grade papers. Finally,
parents can help when it comes to story time in the lower grades. The parents can
come in and be guest readers for story time.
Professional Growth
In order to assess the professional development that needs to be
incorporated for the staff there needs to be an assessment of the staff. The staff
should evaluate their teaching strategies and suggest professional development
workshops they would like to have. Staff should also tell their area of strength that
they are willing to lead a workshop on. If the teachers are willing to lead workshops
then the school does not have to spend money to bring in outsiders for the
professional development. Instead of having to pay the teachers overtime a lot of
the workshops would be on early dismissal days. A grant writing committee needs
to be created. The grant committee would generate the much-needed money that
Eastern Hills Elementary School needs. The team of teachers elected to be on the
grant writing committee should have some background knowledge of writing
grants. The grants would mean that the school does not have to depend on the
district for money or the state. Teambuilding would be necessary to teach the
teachers. Team building activities can be found on the Internet and a few teachers
can volunteer to lead the activities for the day. Once the teachers are familiar with
team building they can incorporate it into their classroom. Working as a group is
better than working alone. The Marzano book would need to be purchased for each
staff member in order to get the best practices strategies set in place. Finally, when
Mr. Jones hires the three new staff members they should be skilled in the areas of
language and reading. These new staff members will be able to lead professional
development workshops for the staff.
Summary Reflection
Creating a School Improvement Plan is a tedious job. This plan involves a lot
of focus. If you don’t have a hand on the problems that are facing the school there is
no way to create this plan. At times I had to take a step back and re-evaluate the
plan that I had in place because it didn’t focus on the problems that the school faced.
It was also difficult to come up with creative ways to include activities for the staff,
parents, and students that didn’t cost money. Knowing that there was no money to
enhance the professional development needed for the teachers was hard, but
knowing that most of the teachers had 15 years of tenure I knew some of them had
attended professional development workshops in the past. As the principal I could
use their experience to lead workshops for the other staff. The teachers that have
15 years of tenure also posed a problem. Teachers that have been in the profession
of teaching for a while get set in their ways. They have plans set in place for their
classroom and when a new person comes in and tells them there will be changes
they will throw up a red flag.
When I become a principal and a school improvement plan needs to be put in
place I know I will face opposition from the staff. The staff is always comfortable
with the way things are working before you come in. As the principal I would have
to gain the trust of the staff and let them know that everything that I’m trying to
include for the school is to make the school better.