|
Change can be chaotic. Maintaining focus during change can
be an exasperating task unless the focus is on results—the
student’s learning—which then guides decision-making.
Leadership, as demonstrated in successful schools, requires
that staff members be engaged in a journey, without a predetermined
route but with some “rules of the road” and a
clear vision of their destination. Communicating these rules,
the vision, and the expectation of professionalism and collegiality
initiates a process that can make a difference.
A by-product of the change process can be the discomfort
that it creates. Glickman (1993) points out that “Disequilibrium
is the constant of school renewal” (p. 83). When the
status quo is disrupted, the outcomes of change tend to be
diverse, creative, and unpredictable. Successful schools
repeatedly demonstrate that, in spite of this challenge,
by their combined efforts, educators can and will find solutions.
Fullan believes that “assessment literacy” for
teachers and principals is a powerful coherence-maker for
such a journey. The leader communicates his/her determination
to change by designing the context of faculty interaction
so that all faculty and administrators engage in the process
of examining student performance data (i.e., making sense
of the data, disaggregating the data, forming goals or action
plans that chart a course toward increased achievement, targeting
strategies, and assessing results). The leader further communicates
a healthy obsession with results. The message to the faculty
is “together we can make a difference for the better”.
This process benefits from, indeed requires, a faculty (parental
support group and community interest) that is participative,
communicative, owns the action plan, and is literate in its
assessment.
The activities in the following sections
include critical steps for communicating change for intermediate
results:
Next: 1. Shape Learning
Teams as “Critical Friends”
|
|
