Curriculum- Ed. Leadeship (Essay Sample)

Curriculum Review: Staff Meeting Name Institution Abstract The aim of the improvement plan is to review the school’s curriculum in the lowest performing areas including math and reading (ELA) and recommend the actions necessary to improve the performance of the school. The core leadership skill and competence in curriculum innovation is the thoughtful and strategic use of all teachers and stakeholders in the joint effort toward the execution of the revised curriculum. Good change leaders recognize the need of allowing time and space for reflection, assessment and a carefully coordinated process of change with the entire school working in a unified direction. A successful leader is also prepared to seek advice and research new approaches to managing the curriculum, since educators’ value explicit guidance in designing new formats which capture cross-curricular approaches to implementing change, as well as the skills and knowledge in the specific subject areas (Judith, Meltzer & Melinda, 2007). Educators are more likely to welcome the freedom to innovate, and a commitment to a reduced central control over the change process. Best practices in curriculum changes will ensure the process of innovation is viewed by teachers as a chance to do things differently and to think creatively. Consequently, any decrease of central control will be readily accepted by teachers. The leader will be motivated to cultivate trust from staff. Trust among teachers lowers the sense of vulnerability as they implement the new and uncertain plans associated with the new program to improve performance. It also facilitates problem-solving within educators and the principal or superintendents. Members of staff understand their roles and the roles of others and obligations as part of the school community. Key words: staff, improvement,leadership team, development plan, education. Forming the Improvement Team Efforts will be made to ensure teachers, members of the school council, parents, and community stakeholders are informed about the improvement plan in a way that their participation is welcome. These stakeholders will provide valuable perspectives and capabilities, and teachers will help non-teaching stakeholders to understand student performance data. It is essential to ensure the team is as representative as possible. It is also important to observe gender and diversity of students and parents while constituting the team. During the first meeting, the leadership team will break down each of the goals into possible and precise steps that will be followed to accomplish the plan. It is during this meeting that the team will discuss who is responsible for what, the timeline of implementation, resources available and how each goal will be evaluated. In the staff meeting, the leader will let the teachers and other staffs: 1) the core reasons for implementing the school performance improvement plan; 2) the guided process of the plan; 3) the importance of the teacher input; 4) there will be a representative leadership team that will meet, plan, and share information with all stakeholders; and 5) they will expect the plan to be challenging (Isernhagen, 2012). The leadership team will discuss how progress will be assessed and measured. The success of the established team will be evaluated by the teams and committees to accomplish their goals, maintaining relationships among its objective, and adapting to the dynamic conditions to improve its effectiveness. Delivering information The team will model and facilitate effective communication. Ineffective communication such as individuals’ inability or unwillingness to listen to confound trust, complicated problem solving and magnifies the sense of vulnerability and isolation among teachers and administrators. Consequently, the communication system will have to be open and fluid, and has feedback loops for all the staff. Consensus building is vital in the first meeting (Kochanek et al., 2015). The team should facilitate authentic involvement by asking staff input by providing them with the necessary background information about the plan. It is also fundamental to treat educators as capable professionals with valuable insights to drive the change. The improvement plan, except for the most sensitive aspect, will be posted on the school’s website. The post will contain the name and the positions of all the members of the improvement team, along with their responsibility. The team leader will also ensure the objectives of the improvement plan, the role of each staff in the success of the plan and the expected outcomes should be posted. For effective communication with individual staff, a personalized invitation to the meeting will be sent through email. The email will contain the venue and the purpose of the meeting. Similar information will be communicated to staff through internal communication channels including internal memos and Blackboard posts. Focus groups can help the school integrate the opinion of the parent in the curriculum revision plans. After determining the data to collect, the school should formulate the team to coordinate the activities and schedule to accomplish the collection of data. What employees will be in charge of It is essential to cultivate and promote the "collaborate and develop" approach to managing the change. Collaborate and develop approach is based on shared responsibility and accountability. It acknowledges that effective teaching is a critical factor in improving performance, but teachers cannot do it on their own without the necessary support from the administrators and the school community. During this meeting, the staff will have an opportunity to work and collaborate in groups to discuss ideas, as this will give them the freedom to discuss. By the end of the meeting, the team will ensure the improvement action group is selected, and strategies for increasing participation by all employees are defined. Beyond the inclusive leadership team and collaborative planning, the plan will constitute sub-committees (for instance, a committee in charge of improving reading scores) to develop the action steps or activities for each of the goals identified by the planning team. The works of these committees will have to be in line with the overall mission of the plan. Revising the Plan Regular review and evaluation of the improvement plan are critical for effective implementation. Additionally, the development plan needs feedback from educators, school board and other stakeholders. Educators input will be considered and integrated into the final plan after the first meeting. After brainstorming on issues that have been omitted, the leading team will produce the final plan which will be communicated through official communication channels. The plan will also be submitted to the district to help in soliciting the necessary resources for the improvement plan. Staff development plan. Focused staff development program ought to be a center of the improvement strategy to address the identified need (Houston, 2013). Supporting educators in their continual efforts to change and improve instructions so that every student may achieve higher levels of achievement is the aim of the staff development (Houston, 2013). Final decisions concerning professional development ought to support the primary goal of improving instruction. Staff development has long-term implications for the long-term success of the plan. To develop a strong, systematic, and successful professional development, educators, administrators and board members will have to work as a team. All the stakeholders need to be completely committed to the enhancement of instructions and sustained learning. Building-based professional development places the decision-making within educators, thus increasing their involvement and ownership of the improvement program (Chukwumah, 2015). The team will elect a minimum of five teachers to form the professional development committee. The professional development committee will evaluate the staff to determine training need and professional development opportunities. It will also build the professional development activities for the year. Each of the staff, including librarian and counselors, will strategize their one year plan of professional d...