Education Administration: Math Achievement Improvement Plan

Planning the Opening Staff Meeting

A need for a meeting arises when the school staff is to be mobilized to improve Math achievement at Senior High School so that students achieve higher grades in the subject across the district. The meeting would highlight important features to be integrated into the upcoming year's plan so that the instructional improvement target could be achieved methodically. The prioritized instructional target — improving Math grades relative to district averages — would be emphasized, and elaborations in the specified area would be communicated clearly to the school staff.

In the upcoming school year, the prioritized instructional target for the school would be achieving high scores in Math and bringing improvements in school averages. As previously communicated when the school improvement plan's findings were shared, there was a 6% decrease in Math achievement compared to district averages. Data-driven decision-making would help reach results logically and systematically so that outcomes closely reflect reality. Proactivity combined with technology integration would support significant cost savings. The school staff would be involved in the meeting so that instructional improvement could be made possible through the utilization of their collective skills.

Vision, Mission, and Core Values

The mission for the next year would be: "The school would focus on bringing an improvement in Math achievement scores as compared to district averages in the same subject. For this, the school aims at fostering positive relationships among the school staff, students, and their parents for working together toward the same target. Facilitation of this prioritized instructional improvement target would be based on non-discrimination of gender, race, age, or ethnicity."

The vision for the next year would be: "The school envisions empowering students for acquiring the necessary skills in Math in the upcoming year, supported by a strong curriculum and the infusion of technology, so that they do not lag behind the district schools' performances. Practicing the core values of the school — respect, inclusion of all genders and races, and the pursuit of excellence — would ensure lifelong learners who excel in the globalized arena."

An educational institution's most common values include accepting diversity, inclusion, achieving excellence, provision of a learning environment, accountability of leaders and followers, teamwork, and community engagement with integrity (Watkins & Donnelly, 2014). These values would be balanced with school and district policy and the values of the staff, students, and community members so that, with cohesive efforts, the instructional improvement plan for the next year could be implemented with ease. The value of inclusive education would emphasize enrolling students from all diverse backgrounds to achieve excellence in overall school Math grades. When students from various ethnicities are involved in the improvement plan, they would actively engage and learn, enabling a sense of teamwork and community.

Ethical Leadership and Data-Driven Priorities

The same is true for teachers and community members. Diversity and inclusion provide a solid foundation for achieving the school's remaining core values, allowing the improvement plan to function effectively in the coming year. Staff from different ethnicities would be empowered and trained to advance equal employment opportunities and job equity. Culturally responsive teaching promotes intercultural communication across the workforce (Howard, 2010). A supportive learning environment for staff would be maintained from the school's side, highlighting core values within its system and functioning. Staff would be highly engaged in working to help students gain Math proficiency across the district. Community members would observe all the positive changes as the school instills its core values and professionalism into the next year's improvement plan, resulting in better outcomes and stronger community assistance.

As a school administrator, a leader carries the responsibility of handling ethical issues effectively. This facilitates smooth accomplishment of the next year's instructional improvement plan and avoids violations of conduct, ensures fair practices in student assessments, and reflects professionalism in planning (Tyler, 2014). The components of moral decision-making would be utilized for reaching just solutions when ethical issues arise. The four components are moral sensitivity, moral judgment, moral motivation, and moral character (Benninga, 2013, p. 81). There are numerous perspectives through which ethical issues could be considered: personal interests, maintaining norms, and post-conventional moral maturity (Benninga, 2013, p. 82). It would be ensured that the professional code of ethics in education is followed so that each student's diverse needs are addressed appropriately, ethical issues are eradicated, and the next year's instructional improvement goal is fulfilled in a timely manner (Benninga, 2013, p. 84).

Student-centered mathematical practices are considered more effective in gaining higher Math grades (National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, 2013, p. 2). A study indicated that the student-centered instructional strategies showing the strongest correlational results for Math achievement include: asking open-ended questions, a teacher telling students which strategy to use when answering, teachers addressing students' concerns about math problems, responding with neutral feedback, responding with justification or reasoning, giving hints to guide students toward the correct technique, clarifying and extending upon students' responses, and highlighting the work of students who perform well in class (National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, 2013, p. 9). This evidence shows that teachers should adopt these approaches in their instructional practice so that students can gain Math proficiency in the upcoming year. Other teacher-centered strategies and peer-collaborative learning could also be employed for better results toward the set target.