Name Carolyn Gassmann
EPPSP Group 39
Butler University
The Experiential Program for Preparing School Principals
STANDARD:
5: Participate in school improvement and curriculum review/revision – Participate in a
school improvement team and/or curriculum review/revision committee. (ELCC 1.4)
Summary:
In Phase II of EPPSP we spent time working on a project centered around School Improvement
Plans. In this project, we worked in groups to analyze and evaluate the School Improvement
Plan from a selected school. After evaluating, we offered suggestions to improve the plan to
make it more comprehensive and thorough.
My group analyzed the School Improvement Plan from North Central High School. We began by
individually reading through the plan and noticing various things. We then came together to
discuss the components. As we discussed, we tried to analyze the plan through a very
objective, data-driven stance. We noticed that the plan was organized in a way that first offered
background information and data on many demographic subgroups represented in the school.
That background information was then turned into “Equitable Achievement Goals”, which
encompass how each subgroup will progress and achieve in the coming school years.
These Equitable Achievement Goals include the following topics:
- 1A: By 2024-2025 NCHS will improve academic proficiency for all subgroups as measured by
NWEA Reading Proficiency.
- 1B: By 2024-2025 NCHS will improve academic proficiency for all subgroups as measured by
NWEA Math Proficiency.
- 1C: By 2024-2025 NCHS will decrease behavior disruptive to the learning as measured by
office referrals.
- 2A: By 2024-2025 NCHS will pursue and implement strategies to hire faculty who better
represent the community we serve.
- 3A: By 2024-2025 NCHS will analyze family engagement feedback by increasing the total level
of parent and family participation in school programming.
The information surrounding these goals was very thorough and all-encompassing. Once we
finished analyzing the information that existed in the plan, we took a more critical lens to look at
the plan with the idea of “what’s missing?” in mind. In doing this we looked for concerning data
trends that were not addressed, and ideas that were presented, but might not have been fully
supported by data, or might not offer complete suggestions for growth. Through this analysis we
noticed that the following areas were lacking in North Central’s School Improvement Plan:
- There is no goal surrounding attendance, despite evidence of decreasing attendance and
graduation rates over the past three years.
- The School Improvement Plan focuses specifically on increasing the academic success low
performers, but there is no written evidence to address the needs of higher performing students.
- A Professional Development Plan is frequently mentioned, but there is very little information
detailing this plan.
- Technology is referenced as a need for improvement, but there are no suggestions or
guidelines to increase technological understanding.
This project really shifted the focus of our work in EPPSP from a personal stance on leadership
to a more practical, data-driven one. In my reflection I will comment on this shift and its impact
on me as a progressing educational leader.
Reflection:
As mentioned, up until this point in EPPSP, we have taken a very personal look at educational
leadership and what it means to be the best leader I can be. However, this phase we have really
begun to look more at the big picture and logistics of how a leader runs a school. Through the
work on School Improvement Plans I have learned the importance of taking a holistic look at a
school and analyzing it from a data-driven standpoint.
So many times as a teacher it is easy to see students, teaching, and education in general from
a very personal and individual viewpoint; especially as a teacher with a classroom full of
students. While this perspective is obviously not bad for a teacher to take, as that means he or
she is putting the true needs of the individual students above everything else, it is not
necessarily the best approach for a building leader to take. Over the course of this semester I
have learned that at certain times a school leader must separate him/herself from the individual
students and see the overall data in order to move the school forward. In taking that holistic
approach, the leader is able to see the needs of the entire student population and implement
goals and plans, hence the School Improvement Plan, to ensure that those goals are met.
While this is certainly a shift in my mindset from a teacher to a growing leader, I am really
excited to continue working from this perspective. One thing that I’ve come to realize is that
when the administration takes the holistic, data-driven perspective and the teachers can
effectively use the outcomes of that data and the goals set from it to inform instruction and teach
with intention, every individual student, and the school as a whole, will succeed.
Artifacts:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ppoUO1EkZ0o7kciq2A5g2b27Jha5x2Ruc3bJrAIJB0c/e
dit?usp=sharing
