Leadership+for+Accountability+5333

Reflection: Throughout this course I learned how to utilize state data as well as other forms of date to recognize strengths and weaknesses on a campus. I completed this course through they eyes of a principal. We studied our campus’s site based committee’s and evaluated how they operate. In doing so I learned that the site based decision committee at our campus is called the Campus Advisory Team (CAT). The team is made up of local community members, parents, and staff members from various aspects of the school. The CAT team members meet once a six weeks and discuss important topics that are on the agenda. One thing that surprised me was the support that is given when addressing the schools needs. During one of the recent CAT meetings the need for more funding for after school programs was addressed. The principal explained to the committee how she has been taking advantage of district resources that were set aside specifically for a tutorial program, but that more school are taking advantage of this and there is now a lack of funding to continue our programs. The team brainstormed ideas and discussed fundraising ideas that would support the continuation of these programs. Although many in our local community don’t always see “eye to eye”, several local leaders stepped up with ideas, or offered their own support in terms of donations to keep the school’s program’s alive. In our SBDM committee agenda’s are made in advance by the principal who seems to head the meeting. She dictates what the meetings are about, but does include in the agenda a time to discuss any hot topics that members would like to discuss. In my schools case it seems to be effective, as we were able to continue our after school programs after following through with the solutions that our CAT team came up with. I believe that overall that all members want the same outcome for a successful school in their community. Throughout the duration of this course I have learned that one of the key aspects of continuous improvement is communication of what is important. What is important is the success of the school, which is largely based on test results. As a principal I would continue to objectively evaluate school programs and procedures that we are using to meet our goals. I would continue the use of PLC’s and the SBDM committee to make decisions that best reflect the schools vision. I would also use these and other committee’s as a tool to either maintain or improve a stung school climate. We would continue to use disaggregated data as a source to make decisions on how to meet our established goals, and make appropriate changes to our procedures when needed. Develop and use a set of committees that allow members from all departments to have an active role in the decision making of our campus. When the SBDM committee does meet we can use the notes from each committee as a tool to further discuss ideas or issues concerning the staff. If our school continues to improve or maintain it success, I will continue monitoring any changes in school demographics for new student needs and address them with our established committees.