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  • Essay / Comparing School Districts - 842

    The article provides an excellent overview of two Ohio school districts; one, Olmstead Falls Intermediate School, classified as a "high performing" school that wanted continued growth and the other, Start High School, classified as needing "continuous improvement", both embarked on the leadership improvement framework established by the State of Ohio. The framework emphasizes adult learning by emphasizing effective leadership, moving from traditional leadership to positive leadership as a means of improvement, and including standards, training and support conditions for the leaders. Both districts implemented professional learning communities, without giving them this opportunity. headline in the article, where superintendents, principals, school boards and teachers were all on board. Olmstead created time for weekly meetings to review educational research, student work, and strategies to improve teaching. They asked themselves why they succeeded in some areas and failed in others, then looked at how they could use what worked to improve the areas where failures occurred. Start transformed staff meetings from administration meetings to established protocols while reviewing student data, creating SMART goals, and working as a team to focus on what was best for students. The collaboration changed the entire school climate, teachers were able to focus again on what they were doing and realized they had the power to change their school. Results for both districts have improved. Olmstead continued to be a high-performing school, but changed its actions from accidental to intentional and Start moved up two levels in one year to become a school of excellence according to the state. Both realized the need to implement school improvement not only when things are not going well, but also when things are going well. Changing the status quo and becoming a true professional learning community, collaborating for the benefit of students, is not only what is needed but it is what should be done in every district, every day. Works cited Chappuis, S., JC (2009, February). Support teacher learning teams. Educational Leadership: Association for Curriculum Supervision and Development, pp. 56-60. Frank, VV (2009, September). Framework for Improvement: Effective school leadership results in increased student learning. The Chief Learning Officer: National Staff Development Council, pp. 2, 6-7. Marzano, R.D. (February 2009). High-leverage strategies for senior leadership. Educational Leadership: Association for Curriculum Supervision and Development, pp... 62-68.