Benchmark: Reviving the Professional Culture 1

Benchmark: Reviving the Professional Culture

Autumn Dickerson

Grand Canyon University: EAD513

July 15, 2020

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Culture Summary

Being that Maynard High School is a fairly new school, it is evident that the culture of

the school is still trying to be created. This will be the second year of existence for this school.

Until this year there has been about 1,100 students in grades 9-11. This year MHS will have their

first graduating class making the population of the student body 1,450. There are currently 45

teachers on payroll. Seven teachers have submitted resignation notices, and there are nine

additional units to be added this year. Along with myself as incoming principal, there will be a

new assistant principal to add to the two that are currently there. Office staff is at a sufficient

capacity needed to support our staff and students daily.

Based on the information received from various individuals, there are things in place that

are not being utilized properly. A major concern of mine is the inconsistency with the use of the

curriculum. If we are going to guarantee our stakeholders that we are going to provide the best

academic experience for our students, then there needs to be consistency across the board in the

methods being used to deliver instruction. It also concerns be that professional development is

just another day on the calendar. Teachers need to grow, and those days should be properly

utilized. At times funding may not allow for the district to bring in the best educational experts

for professional development, however learning and growth can take place amongst

professionals within the same content area. Therefore, professional learning communities are

essential to our staff’s growth also.

Mission and Vision Statement

“Learning is fluid and dynamic, and the schoolhouse should be as well. That means

evolving with the times and embracing the changes necessary to ensure that our students have

the opportunities to do the amazing things that we undoubtedly know they are capable of doing,”
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(Cook 2017). At this point of MHS’s existence they do not have a dynamic of their own. Being a

new school give us the opportunity to create and nurture our own brand. We cannot do so

without our stakeholders being a part of this process. When creating a mission and vision for the

school, it is important to build it around the things that we can guarantee as a school, district, and

community. Because I am new to the district, and many of the staff will be new I feel that it is

important to send out a needs survey to all stakeholders about their vision for our school. Using

this survey an inhouse committee will work towards creating a vision and mission for our school.

As the principal I could easily create a generic vision and mission statement, but as a leader I

know that I cannot do everything by myself and I would like that transparency seen on the front

end.

Short- and Long-Term Outcomes

A short-term outcome that will need to be addressed is the creation of our mission and

vision statement as a school. As mentioned earlier a needs assessment will be sent out to all

stakeholder so that their opinions and expectations can be taken into consideration during this

process. A mission and vision statement drives the culture of a school’s environment, and

ultimately teaches everyone in the building how to show pride for something that they are

invested in. Another short-term outcome would be reviewing and assessing the credibility of the

current curriculum. During the first few months I was able to find out that there was a curriculum

available, but not everyone was utilizing it. MHS will have their first graduating class this year

and so far this class has seen a lot of negative things within personnel. I need to ensure that the

instruction that all students will be receiving is coming from credible curriculum and that it is

being facilitated in a way that will be able to be taken beyond the classroom.
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Within the first five years of my tenure at MHS I would like to create a culture that will

be known across our state in all areas. We will be known for our academic and extracurriculars.

Our graduation rate will be among the top in the state, and we will hopefully be able to groom

top tier athletic and fine arts programs. Another long-term goal that I have for our school is to be

able to collaborate with central office and an in state university on a program that will allow the

educator within the school to seek higher education at an affordable price. The more a teacher

knows about their content are or area of interest the more knowledge they will have to present to

our students, Each of these goals will allow out students to be provided a high quality high

school experience.

Stakeholder Involvement

“Collaborative leadership and collective efficacy are needed to help principals meet the

everchanging demands of the job,” (DeWitt 2017). Collaboration with our stakeholders is

very important to me a leader. Many time my most current focus can lead to having a blind

eye on other situations. In order to involve and collaborate with all stakeholder, I will send

out a quarterly needs and satisfaction assessment. The needs assessment will be geared

towards identifying any need that needs to be addressed. The satisfaction survey will allow

me to see if our execution of previous needs are being implemented effectively.

As a leader I understand that my involvement in all things that has to do with MHS is

important. I know that I will not be able to be at every event, but I believe that the more events

that I am able to attend the better the relationships with my students, their families, and the

community will be. Along with the quarterly assessments for feedback from our stakeholder, I

will make it known that I am always open to receive emails and schedule phone conference to
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discuss any immediate needs. I will also strive to be a community advocate and work to find

resources that are available to help with the need at hand. It is always a priority to be a voice for

anyone in need. I will strive to use my position of leadership as a platform to create a better

environment for our community. It is important that the sixteen hours or so a day that our

students are not with us, they are receiving what they need because the mindset of our scholars

start at home.

Rationale

Standard one of the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders states, “Effective

educational leaders develop, advocate, and enact a shared mission, vision, and core values of

high-quality education and academic success and well-being of each student,” (NPBEA 2015).

As the leader of MHS I had to identify immediate issues and figure out how to effectively solve

them for our student’s sake. Creating a culture that our student’s will be able to be proud of for

years to come is the ultimate goal when creating this plan. Not only will they be proud of their

school environment, but their community as an emphasis is put on community collaboration.

Investing in the development of the individuals that will spend the most time with the students

creates opportunities for learning that will be able to be applied in life after high school. Every

decision is made with the students best interest as top priority.

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References

Cook, H. J. (2017). A Community of Collaboration, Principal Leadership, 17(5), 50-53

DeWitt, P. (2017). Many Hands Make Light Work: How Collaborative Leadership Leads to

Collective Efficacy. Principal, 97(1) 28-33.

National Policy Board for Educational Administration (2015). Professional Standards for

Educational Leaders 2015. Reston, VA: Author.