The principal's role in improving negative school climate

Administration

Behavior Problems and Solutions

At no time in the history of education has competent school leadership been more critical. Public education is under fire by parents to ensure their child will be able to compete on the global stage while the business community is crying out for graduates that are proficient in a range of relevant skills. Most people do not realize the role of the educational administrator is varied and complex and its scope so broad. School principals discharge hundreds of decisions daily -- some small, some large and many of them on the spot.

He or she must at once be instructional leaders, professional coaches and managers of day-to-day activities. They oversee the proper delivery of curriculum, monitor the pulse of student achievement, prepare budgets, and dozens of other functions. Arguably their most important task is to interact with students, parents and the community on a positive basis and handle the myriad complaints from those who are less than pleased; usually about something involving their child's experience at school.

The educational problem

Research supports the premise that a positive school climate is more conducive to authentic learning. Ample research exists to validate this theory and three articles have been chosen for review and included in the appendix of this paper. The problem under consideration for this essay is that as a seasoned administrator -- were I to be placed in charge of a failing elementary school and after several months of review of the building's overall data find the overall climate is negative and this is adversely affecting student scores how would I turn the building around?

Action research plan

Action research is a systematic process for studying educational problems in ways that lead to significant improvements. The steps to an action research plan include initial diagnosis, data collection, analysis and feedback, action planning, implementation and follow up. Before we apply this model to the aforementioned educational problem it is important to note that authentic change takes time and an action research of this magnitude may take three years in which case stakeholders must be stoked to stay actively involved to see it to its conclusion. This includes meeting regularly -- even in the summer -- perhaps occasionally in the evening or weekend. The principal should choose a strong teacher leader who genuinely supports the cause to chair the committee and keep them moving forward.

Initial diagnosis

As the instructional leader a principal is trained to view the success of the school as a whole by examining its parts for areas of weakness. When accepting a principalship at any school the first order of importance is to familiarize yourself with relevant statistics. This includes scores on state assessments, previous parental concerns and suspension rates. High suspension rates are often an indication of the existence of a negative school climate for several reasons.

First, high suspension rates often indicate that there are no support measures in place that work a student through a problem and return them to the classroom with the least amount of disruption to their academic learning. Out-of-school suspension should be used only as a last resort; besides, an in-school suspension program that allows a student to continue their studies is much preferred. High suspension rates are also an indication that perhaps the teaching methods and classroom environments are not meeting the needs of the child. Finally, high suspension rates are an indication that the overall school climate is remiss and that all stakeholders should have a say in creating a more positive and caring environment.

Analysis and feedback

This data would then be presented at weekly grade level meetings and the larger staff meetings as well as with the newly formed task force. The goal is to demonstrate by a preponderance of evidence the need for change -- change in climate, change in curricular delivery -- and perhaps a change in nearly all aspects of the total school program. As the principal, I knew this from the earliest days of taking over leadership of the building. I only had to convince the staff of this through concrete data. While collecting the data I honored the community, parents and students by soliciting their opinions and publishing the results. After all, each is a part of a school's audience and all ideas for positive change should not be overlooked.

Action research

Now is a good time to get into the literature to see what other schools and teachers have done in similar circumstances. Too, what does research say about school climate and academic performance? This is actually the where the decision making process comes into play. The team must develop a proposal or plan of action complete with expectations and target goals. There is no doubt this is a complicated process. It requires team members to utilize their higher order thinking skills -- analysis, synthesis, etc. In the creation of a new paradigm for the building.

Again, though, the buck stops with the principal and as such I would play a critical role in all aspects of the research. The truth is the principal usually has an end game in mind and this is no different with me. My initial observations uncovered old-fashioned teaching methods were the norm and there was an overall lack of innovative thinking. It appeared that teachers were just going through the motions and the students were the ones who were suffering. It requires an artful administrator to speak this truth without alienating his followers and one way to do this is to put them in a position where they draw that conclusion themselves and then embrace change for the better.

Implementation

It would be wonderful if the previous steps could be complete within my first year as principal so that implementation of a plan could begin immediately at the beginning of the second year. The task force has a number of recommendations that include professional development in differentiated instruction, more collaborative planning, the implementation of a school wide behavior program called Positive Behavior Systems, the deliberate incorporation of technology in each lesson and more. Interestingly enough, these would have been my recommendations had I simply laid them out without stakeholder involvement; but I doubt they would have been met with the same enthusiasm as they are when teachers, students and community believe the ideas were theirs to begin with.

Follow-up

Follow-up and assessment are key to ensuring the authentic internalization of this new program. Remember, the goal is to improve student achievement on state assessments while creating a 21st teaching and learning environment. Realistically this should take around 3-year before significant improvement becomes evident. But for the principal -- it's all in a day's work.

Knowledge and skills of an administrator for this project

Although I have spoken of the variety of skills and some knowledge needed to successfully complete this project this information will be recapped for the reader in this section.

As a principal on this project I or anyone who were to undertake one similarly should have a thorough knowledge of the school improvement process. In addition, he or she should know the state and local expectations in the core curricular areas including such things as grade level content expectations. The principal should be schooled in the process of action research and stay abreast of the latest educational theories about teaching and learning such as differentiated learning and collaborative planning. Finally, the principal should be expert at using all types of technology, at ease with modeling its use and actively seeking opportunities to incorporate it into this plan.

As to the skills, this plan would require a skilled consensus builder, exceptional speaker and writer, and a visionary. Too, he or she must be able to assess the effectiveness of an overall program and its component parts remaining vigilant for weaknesses whose alternation would lead to successful overall school improvement

Appendix

1.School climate includes the behaviors and attitudes of teachers, students and administrators.

2.School leaders should have a vision for where they want to take the school.

3. Collaboration is essential to improving school climate.

4. There is a direct correlation between school climate and student performance.

5. There are a number of successful school wide climate programs including PBS.

6. Students respond to changes when they feel they are a valued part of that change.

7. School administrators must be educated in the latest theories of learning to be effective.

8. Successful schools refrain from punitive measures such as out-of-school suspension.

9. Successful schools have implemented in school suspension and guidance techniques.

10. School improvement efforts require involvement of all stakeholders.

11. School improvement programs must be monitored and adapted where needed.

12. Successful milestones should be celebrated.

13. Differentiated instructional and other teaching techniques improve student outcomes.

14. Parents must be an integral part of the change process.

15. Successful administrators are skilled in the fine art of persuasion.

16. Collaboration is essential to change.

17. Although not all ideas will be accepted, all should be heard.

18. Children want to learn and make connections with adults.

19. Communities are more supportive of education when they are made a part of it.

20. Change begins with visionary leaders.

21. Schools with positive school climates are models for failing schools.