Improve Learning by Building Community: A Principal?s Guide to Action

Jane Clancy sat quietly for the 45-minute presentation by the guest speaker at the Beginning of the Year Kick-Off principals’ meeting for the Lemon Peel Local School District. Jane had been waiting for this day to arrive ever since she had been handed the keys to Elvira J. Motley School, a preK–6 elementary school in one of the wealthier areas that make up the Lemon Peel district. Although she had nine successful years as an assistant at two other elementary schools, this would be her first assignment as a principal, and she was looking forward to meeting the challenges of leading a reasonably effective school toward recognition as one of the best schools in the district, if not the whole state. She firmly believed that she could accomplish her goal within the next two years, but it would take a lot of time and many long hours. As a result, she was only half-heartedly listening to the presentation being made to the assembled administrators.

The speaker was Dr. David Delacourt, a recently retired principal and superintendent who, as a principal, had done a superb job of taking his school from the status of being a good local school to becoming a nationally recognized lighthouse for all schools across the nation. Later, when he became the superintendent of his district, he made use of what he had learned in one school and applied the same vision to a school district with 18 individual schools that had recently won an award by the U.S. Department of Education as the Most Effective School District in the United States. Dr. Delacourt noted in his closing comments that the secret to the success of his school and the entire district was really much more simple than most people realized. What he realized one day as a relatively inexperienced principal was that all the money, all the time spent, and all the hard work in the world would not transform a school as powerfully as would a much less flashy strategy that did one thing: He believed in the people in his school. That belief fed another strategy that yielded great success for years, and then became the cornerstone for his work as a superintendent. The belief in the people inside and outside of schools leads naturally to the establishment of a powerful foundation, namely community. He ended his presentation which included data concerning dramatic changes in a school and district after his philosophy had been translated into action. I suddenly discovered that I truly believed that no school will ever be better than its people. If you believe that, you will find greatness.

Jane heard the last few sentences and laughed to herself. Her new school was well known as a good school because it had teachers who knew their stuff. In her mind, all the advice of working to build a school on the strengths of each staff member, teachers as well as classified staff, was wonderful for speeches, but not the way good things will happen in reality. She had her own simple solution to school improvement: Build on your strengths. She would spend her first few months finding out the few exemplary teachers who probably worked in the school and showcase their talents and practices as models for everyone else to follow. And if people did not follow the stars, there would be changes made as soon as possible. After all, her superintendent had made it quite clear that she was empowered to do whatever it took to make sure that her school became as good as it could. And Dr. Delacourt’s notions of involving everyone associated with a school as a partner was just so much fantasy that would never have much real pay-off. After all, she was chosen to lead a school, not serve to make people happy all the time.

Points to Ponder

•   What is your reaction to this scenario? What if you were a classified staff member at Elvira J. Motley School?

•   How would you describe the values of the new principal at Motley Elementary School? Do you personally agree or disagree with her views?

•   How do you assess the value of ideas presented by Dr. Delacourt at the principals’ meeting?

One of the most important parts of any leader’s background and skills is his or her value orientations. As often noted by many analysts of effective leadership in any organization, what the leader believes and his or her values will ultimately define the reality of practice in an organization. Without a clear understanding of what you believe, it will be next to impossible to speak authoritatively about the future direction of your school. Simply stated, if people do not know what the leader believes, how can they follow?

Returning to the opening scenario for a moment, it would appear highly unlikely that the incoming principal of Motley School will be devoting much time or attention to a sustained effort to create a sense of community in her school. Like many things in the field of education, even with inspiration offered by ardent proponents of new ideas or practice, good practices are destined to die a quick death because there is little or no heartfelt support for the new idea. It appears that Jane Clancy will spend a great deal of time supporting her best teachers, but they may be the only people in which she will invest much time during the next year as she tries to move her school from being good to great. And it also appears that she has little inclination to involve many other people in guiding her actions.

Points to Ponder

•   In your judgment, what might the short- and long-term consequences be in a school where Jane Clancy’s perspective was guiding action?

•   What course of action would you follow if you were the principal who came to Motley Elementary School after Jane Clancy left?

In this chapter, we look at the ways in which your work as an aspiring or beginning educational leader may be made more effective through a review of personal assumptions and subsequent translation of personal philosophy into a broader vision of an effective school. Developing a clear statement of your personal educational philosophy is an important part of creating a culture for successful practice. While it should be clear throughout this book that there is an underlying set of beliefs about the inherent value of working toward the creation of a broad-based community, the choice of accepting that belief system is entirely up to you as a principal. But there is an absolute value to be found in a leader sharing an individual philosophy as a part of action planning and vision building that will make even a very good school better.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT EDUCATIONAL PLATFORMS

The educational leader’s platform, developed by Sergiovanni and Starratt (2007), is a model designed to help professional educators assess their views in a straightforward manner, akin to the platform statements made by political candidates in an election campaign. The major difference between a politician’s and an educator’s platform is that the latter is structured to communicate the educator’s deepest and truest beliefs, attitudes, and values, even if these are contrary to the sentiments of the voters and other members of the public.

Practical Tips

Preparing a Statement of Personal Values

There is a great deal of research indicating that effective leaders are clear about their personal values, beliefs, and assumptions. Many school districts across the United States now ask applicants for administrative positions to include a statement of personal beliefs along with a letter of application and the district job application form. Here are some tips to assist you in preparing a statement of personal values:

•   Be honest. The statement of personal views is not an academic exercise. It should convey your own most important beliefs about schools, students, and schooling. The more honest you make the statement, the more helpful it will be for the school district and also you to determine if the job offered is the job you want to do.

•   Provide examples. Actions speak louder than words. Remember that for every statement you write about your personal beliefs, an interviewer might ask for a concrete example of how you have actually behaved in a way consistent with your espoused beliefs.

•   Seek the counsel of a trusted friend or colleague. Before submitting your written statement of values and beliefs, you should ask someone whom you trust to read your statement and critique according to the question, Is the person described on this paper the person I appear to be in reality?

There is no single, perfect format for an educational platform. For example, Barnett (1991) suggested that a platform may consist of a written statement which articulates an educator’s views on issues ranging from desired student outcomes to preferred organizational climate to expectations for community involvement in schools. Sergiovanni and Starratt’s model (2007) for formulating an educational leader’s educational platform includes 12 major elements. Ten of these deal with general educational themes, and as a result, they can serve as the basis for any professional educator’s platform. The last two are linked more directly to the role of a formal school leader.

The platform questions proposed by Sergiovanni and Starratt (2007) are excellent prompts to help any leader carry out a comprehensive personal reflection on a number of issues that are related to what constitutes quality in a principal’s mind. However, as someone who is preparing to start an administrative career, or one as an assistant principal or a beginning principal, you probably have so much on your plate at this time that reflecting on so many ideas and issues is not likely an activity that you want to tackle right away. In the following section, brief excerpts from platforms written by principals and teachers follow each plank of what are really some of the key issues that you might wish to include in a platform early in your career.

1. The Major Achievements of Students This Year

The major achievements I would hope to have my children display by the end of the year include both academic achievements and personal achievements. (Teacher)

2. The Leader’s Image of the Learner

Children are unique. Therefore, their ability to acquire and retain new knowledge and skills is unique. (Teacher)

Educators see students as individuals who want to gain knowledge or understanding through study, instruction, and experience. Adjectives that describe the learner are responsible, enthusiastic, inquisitive, attentive, hard working . . . and the opposite of each objective as well. (Principal)

3. The Leader’s Image of the Teacher

Teachers with a clear mission have a deep underlying belief that students can grow and attain self-actualization. Teachers believe that they have something of significance to contribute to other people, especially students, and believe with every fiber that they can make a difference. (Teacher)

Since teachers work directly with our children, I expect that teachers can do many things, from modeling commitment to high standards and moral values, to being a dispenser of knowledge and translator of culture, to being a friend, adviser, and counselor. In short, I believe that teachers can and often do work miracles. (Principal)

4. The Preferred Teacher-Student Relationship

The relationship established between the teacher and the student has a profound effect upon the child’s ability to function and learn to his or her optimal level. . . . It is important for the teacher to understand that each child is unique and that a teacher’s expectations for one student might not be the same for other students. (Teacher)

The interpersonal relationships that occur and the bonds that are formed between teacher and student are special. . . . Students look up to educators with admiration. Educators who give praise and encouragement might be the only positive influence in some students’ lives. It is not surprising that strong bonds and relationships are formed. (Principal)

5. The Preferred School Climate

An atmosphere of trust and safety must be created within a classroom. Within this environment, each child’s unique needs and interests can be met. (Teacher)

The school climate is affected by educator attitudes, how staff members relate to administration, the amount of collegiality that exists, teacher-student relationships, and school-community relationships. I believe that attitudes might be the key to a positive climate. (Principal)

6. The Purpose or Goal of Leadership in Schools

The focus of educational leadership should be to maximize children’s learning. This is accomplished by directly improving the quality of a teacher’s instruction within the classroom. An educational leader, therefore, is a person whose responsibility and desire are to help teachers and capitalize on their strengths. (Teacher)

I think the real goal of an educational leader should somehow be to identify the strengths that people have and build on those. If people make mistakes and need help, that should also be a part of the educational leader’s role. Dealing with mistakes can be done in a way that promotes growth and professional development. (Principal)

None of the excerpted statements found in the platforms of several different teachers and principals are the right or correct things to say in statements such as these. And the format for the platform provided is but one to engage in this exercise. Others who have engaged in the platform preparation process have written their beliefs in ways much different than the model shown here. The purpose of developing and sharing platforms is not an exercise of doing a single written activity and then leaving it alone. It is meant to be something that promotes ongoing dialogue in a school so that everyone can gain insights into the values that are present and that may drive different practices and approaches by members of the school community. For example, in the illustrated platform statement of both the teacher and the principal, it is evident that there is strong consistency of the image of the principal and other leaders taking on the responsibility for providing professional development. Other similar insights might be derived from reviewing individual statements of belief.

Points to Ponder

•   As you read over the examples above, what might a reader of these individual statements believe about the mission of schools where the authors of these comments worked?

•   Would the school implied through the collected values be the kind of school in which you would like to work?

A NORMATIVE USE OF A PLATFORM

The exercise of platform development described so far suggests that there is a value to be derived in school by simply asking people to think about personal values (Daresh, 2007). By the way, it should be noted that the discussion of personal values is not something that may be limited to the teachers and the campus administrators. Everyone who works in a school may be encouraged to share their values and beliefs about any or all of the enumerated areas included in a platform.

The purpose of this book in total, however, is to suggest that there are characteristics of a particular approach to schooling that call for underlying beliefs to exist, particularly by the leader. Simply stated, as shown in the opening scenario of this chapter, if you believe that there is no real value in creating a sense of community in your school, it will not happen. In this case, there are still no right or wrong things to believe. But there is a need to realize that a normative value exists here.

As you read over the kinds of issues that must be considered if a leader wants to develop a school community in a most positive sense, you must reflect on your personal responses to each item. Like Jane Clancy, you may think that being a good principal is quite compatible without any emphasis on bringing people together.

What Value Do You See in Creating a School That Functions as a Community, or Even as an Extended Family?

There is little doubt that there are increasing calls for effective organizations of all types—schools, businesses, hospitals, and so on—to adopt philosophies that indicate that they are functioning more effectively because they have chosen to follow the advice of ardent recent contributors such as Peter Senge (1990), Roland Barth (1990), Richard DuFour and Robert Eaker (1998), and many others. Each of these authors have suggested that when effort is spent in any organization to create a sense of community through the intentional focusing of resources of common goals, the result will always be increased productivity of