Educational Reflections Background- Mr. Billings

Educational Reflections

Background- Mr. Billings is principal at XYZ School. Recently, a group of parents approached Principal Billings expressing some concern that they did not feel that the level of communication between teachers and parents was at the level they wanted. Oddly, when Principal Billings spoke with a group of teachers, they were confused, thinking they communicated quite a bit to parents. Billings decided to collect data to evaluate the issues surrounding communications.

Strengths and Weaknesses of School- Clearly, Principal Billings runs a school in which both parents and teachers can communicate their issues in an open, honest, and professional manner. Parents are not afraid of Billings, and not afraid to express their concerns. Likewise, the teachers are unafraid of his taking sides, and know they can articulate their own opinions in a calm and professional manner. A further strength is that Billing sided with no cadre, but believed that he would do his own research and then make an evaluation. He was also cognizant of the teachers' workload, and developed his data recording template so that it would not be time consuming for the already overburdened teacher.

We do not yet know if there is a true weakness in the school, but we do know there is a disconnect of some type. The parents feel the need to go to Billings rather than the teachers -- or we can assume that some of them already talked with individual teachers, but did not get the level of satisfaction they wanted. We do not know if it is a single teacher, group of teachers, cadre of grade level, etc. that perplex the parents, so it is unclear as to what level or severity the communication problem exists. However, since perception is reality, if the parents perceive that there is a communications issue, in their mind there is one and it must be perceived as a weakness and dealt with.

Part 2 -- Strengths and weaknesses of the data collected- Data is only as good as its source. Because this is both a self-administered and qualitative study, there is no way to be formally certain of the validity of the data. One teacher might take the data collection very seriously, another might fill it out without much thought, and another might simply put in information that he/she thinks will support the communications issue. On a positive note, simply putting together a qualitative survey lets the parents know Billings is serious about the issue, while letting the teachers know that he is not willing to criticize their performance without first doing due diligence and investigating.

Part 3 -- What changes would you suggest for the school? Regardless of the data, Billings should meet with the teachers and come up with a school-wide, agreed upon communication plan that sets minimum standards for the team. This plan might include an electronic or printed newsletter, protocol for contacting parents, frequency of contact via personal conference, phone call, or progress report; and plans for most regular situations. In this way, minimum level standards are set for the school, and Billings can feel confident that if approached, he can let the parents know that there is a school-wide plan. Billings can say to the parents that a plan has been developed and in place to ensure adequate communications, and that he has every confidence in his staff following the program. In the same vein, he can go to an individual teacher and ask to see if the communications protocol is being followed. There is then no gray area, nor value judgment; instead, it is factual, verifiable and easily implementable school wide. This might also have an energizing effect upon the teachers as well.

Part 4 -- Regarding mathematics, what can be done in the learning community to address the school's need? The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, an international organization of teachers who are focused on improving the math curriculum globally, presented new standards in 2000 designed to improve curricula, teaching and assessment. Within their rubric, six principles were established to address themes that were valid regardless of the school culture:

Equity -- There must be high expectations and support for excellence in math education from all levels; teachers, administrators, school boards, and parents.

Curriculum -- More than a collection of problems or activities, a math curriculum should be focused, well-articulated, and flow from grade to grade.

Teaching -- Appropriate and effective math teaching requires not only an understanding of math principles but of what students need to understand, and how that should be effectively communicated to them.

Learning -- Students must learn math in a synergistic, step process- each previous module must present them with tools needed to move forward and actively build a knowledge base.

Assessment -- Assessment should support the learning aspect of math and be appropriate as a tool for understanding student needs; not simply as something easy to grade.

Technology -- Adapting technology is absolutely essential in learning mathematics (NCTM, 2009).

These would be very helpful to the school because they support a variety of learning needs and issues. Focusing on relevancy would increase the chances of acceptance across the curriculum. In addition, adding multidimensional curriculum issues, external enrichment activities, and an approach in which mathematics was supported by material from other core curriculum areas (writing, literature, science, etc.).