Please discuss the following:* What is the "Essential Knowledge" from your article that the group should understand/ be able to apply to leadership practice?
* How can the school vision become a tool for leaders to assess school effectiveness?
Remember: Each group member must post at least three times: Once for the essential knowledge from their article, once as an answer to the discussion question, and at least once to someone else in the group.
This is Sarah Rees :)
ReplyDelete* What is the "Essential Knowledge" from your article that the group should understand/ be able to apply to leadership practice?
The essential knowledge that I took away from Vision as the Compass is that as a leader there are multiple levels of vision. Vision is guiding light that is followed by all organizational members for lighting the path. A vision is not something that has a particular beginning and end point, but is something that continually grows and is embraced by all stakeholders. There are four important levels of vision that take place within a school; these are a vision of self as a leader, a personal leadership vision, a shared vision focused on teaching, learning, and assessment and a shared vision for the school community. When these are all aligned and all members of the school embrace the school vision, students are able to succeed and everyone is working towards the common vision.
This article also provides several ways to help current and future leaders develop their own vision plan. One must know what one wants first before asking people to follow their vision. By following the suggested questions and charts one can create an “inner compass” to help create a personal vision that will be communicated to others and allow for the leader to act consistently with the vision and perceived with respect and integrity which creates a sense of trust at the school.
Another way to view vision is looking through the symbolic and expressive perspectives. Symbolic represents the leader modeling and helps maintain focus or attention on what is important in the leadership plan. The expressive side is when the leader makes the time to talk with teachers, the community etc. to enhance the rationale and generate shared discussions about what is important at the school. The vision of a school is the driving force that can bring the school community together to help students achieve and have a common goal that is embraced by all members.
Sarah again for the second question :)
ReplyDelete* How can the school vision become a tool for leaders to assess school effectiveness?
The school’s vision is something that all stakeholders should be invested in. When the vision is clearly stated, formed together by stakeholders and has created passion among the staff members, a leader will be able to assess school effectiveness based on the school vision. Meaning, if part of the school’s vision is creating a learning environment that stimulates creativity (for the students) the leader will be able to see opportunities for students to be creative in the classroom. This may look different in each classroom but through observations, discussions and the types of assignments given to the students is one way this can be seen. Teachers may even begin to ask for more PD focused on enhancing student creativity within the classroom. This is another way a leader can assess the effectiveness of the school vision. Leaders can incorporate different areas of the school’s vision into the teacher observation process as well. Inviting the community to help support creativity in the classroom is another form of witnessing the vision working. There are ample resources available in the community that can help enhance the school vision to help students succeed.
Overall, if the staff has embraced the school vision entirely, then the school should be functioning with the common vision in all school areas. This may take time to build but in the end the students will be achieving and the quality of school effectiveness will be greater in the end.
I like your idea of incorporating the school's vision into the teacher observation. So many times, I think the vision statement is posted and forgotten about. By incorporating it into the teacher's observation, it emphasizes the importance of the vision and reminds teachers what they are working toward.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn 'Visions That Blind', the essential knowledge is that school leaders should promote collaboration instead of demanding their own agenda. By focusing on only one philosophy, a leader can become blinded to what is around him/her. They need to be open to the insight and opinions of their staff in order for them and the school to grow. It is imperative that leaders build "collaborative work environments" by "fostering vision building."
ReplyDeleteThe article is summed up nicely with Fullan's statement that leaders should strive to be "leaders of instructional leaders" instead of just instructional leaders.
The school vision can become a tool for leaders to assess school effectiveness, but first the vision must have buy-in from all stakeholders. In order for the vision to be successful all stakeholders need to be a part of creating and implementing the vision. If a vision is set from above and has no true following, it is less likely to succeed. Through collaborative efforts a school can set goals that are attainable and useful for the entire school. Once you have the collaboration, the vision can become a tool for leaders to assess school effectiveness. By looking at the vision the leader can see what worked and what didn't work and can strive to improve the things that need improvement.
ReplyDeleteI think you are absolutely right about collaboration. A school's vision needs to be a collaborative effort. If not, then many stakeholders who do not share that vision might not put in their best effort. Every leader hopes to have a successful partnership with their community members. By working collaboratively on a school's vision, then all stakeholders can focus on specific goals that seek to improve the school experience for all students.
DeleteIn "Vision, Leadership, and Change" the author discusses the importance of creating a strong vision statement for a district/school. In the article, leaders set a plan for their agenda and first learn about their organization's environment in order to create a successful vision. There should be a set process that evaluates the current state of the organization, and a collaborative atmosphere that establishes the vision that benefits all students. The author nicely sums up the importance of a vision statement with the following quote:
ReplyDelete"vision is not a luxury but a necessity; without it, workers drift in confusion or, worse, act at cross-purposes."
Question 2:
ReplyDeleteThe implementation of a school vision can benefit all stakeholders in a school or school system. In the article "Vision, Leadership, and Change," the author discusses the importance of evaluating the present state of their school. Through this analysis, a leader can have a better understanding of the school's values before they implement their own shared vision. Once they implement their shared vision with all stakeholders, the school / district can create their own programs and philosophy. This shared vision will only work if the leader has a set plan and works collaboratively with all interested parties. Without this shared vision, an organization's goals might not be attainable, and as a result, have a negative impact on their students.
I completely agree! When there is little to no collaboration a school can really turn upside down from the inside. I think that type of setting creates a very negative working environment which takes a toll out on the teachers and this eventually affects the students! The goal of all educators no matter their status or level of expertise is to create opportunities for student success. This cannot be done if coworkers and leaders are not working collaboratively.
DeleteSarah Rees