Action Plan for Addressing the Problem Intervention

Structurally
The school’s departments have their own heads and the principal is subject to the dictates of the state. However, the previous principal used a democratic leadership style, and the current principle is more authoritarian in approach. This leaves many of the older teachers feeling out of touch with the administration, though the younger teachers are accepting of the new principal’s style of leadership—especially since the principal has enacted changes in the classroom that the younger teachers approve of.
The action plan, structurally speaking, therefore has to address the manner in which the principal and the teachers work together to achieve the mission of Baker High. In order to get everyone on the same page, the principal should communicate more effectively with the teachers and embrace a more democratic leadership style so that they can feel as though their voices are being heard. Since teachers are the backbone of the school, it is important that this be done immediately prior to the next school year beginning. The principal should send a letter to all teachers indicating that a democratic leadership style will be implemented for this coming year to help older and younger teachers engage more constructively with the administration and create a structure within the school that supports the overall objective of the school.
Systemically
The school needs to be better integrated into the community to help develop lifelong learners who can return to invest their time and energy into the community and the school after reaching adulthood and obtaining a good career. Here, the main change that needs to be affected is the promotion of a better integration between teachers and families. For this reason, the school will be mandating home visits—the concept of teachers visiting the homes of students so that they can get to meet their families and parents and better understand the students’ background and domestic situation. The trade-off for teachers is that home visits will eliminate the need for parent-teacher meetings.
The benefit for families in the community is that home visits show the community that the school and its teachers are invested in them: they want to do their all to make sure their children excel and have an opportunity to succeed in the real world. Home visits have been shown to improve teacher-family relationships (Whyte & Karabon, 2016), which is crucial to the systemic improvement of Baker High’s reputation and objective. Home visits will be mandated for all teachers in the upcoming year. Teachers do not have to visit every family but must select four families to visit every month. They will have the opportunity to reach out to whichever families they choose or to allow families to schedule a visit.
Culturally
Culture is shaped by missions, values and norms. Baker High has to cultivate a vision of what it wants to be and a means of obtaining that vision and making it a reality. The teachers and administrators have to work together with the parents of students as well as with student leaders to create a culture that can be celebrated and embraced. To establish a culture that promotes the objectives of the school, a new committee consisting of teachers, parents, students and administrators should be formed for the upcoming school year. This will empower students to want to participate more in student government as their voice will now be heard at the administrative level. They will represent students; teachers will represent teachers; parents will represent the community; and the principal will represent the administration. The committee should meet once a month to discuss ways to promote a positive school culture so that its place in the community and in the lives of all stakeholders is prominent. Business leaders from the community should also be invited to join the committee as they are the ones who will be hiring the students of tomorrow.
Power and Influence
Teachers need to form a coalition to create upward influence in the school. The teachers are on the front lines of the educative experience, interacting with students and parents. Their input and influence is crucial to the successful operations of the school. By forming a coalition, they can ensure that their voices are heard and impactful at the administrative level as well as in the community.
The coalition must work to make a difference, specifically by: (a) sponsoring a community event so that teachers can become more visible to the community, (b) working with the administration by appointing representatives for the culture committee discussed above, (c) organize and promote the home visit program also discussed above, (d) and find ways of integrating technology into the classrooms and helping older teachers who are unused to including technology learn to how to integrate this medium in fun and creative ways so that students have more opportunities to learn in engaging ways. The effective use of power and influence depends on teachers coming together, working together, and leveraging their position in positive ways. The coalition should be formed for the upcoming school year and the action items (a) through (d) should be applied for the same upcoming school year.
References
Whyte, K. L., & Karabon, A. (2016). Transforming teacher–family relationships: Shifting
roles and perceptions of home visits through the funds of knowledge approach. Early Years, 36(2), 207-221.