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Reviving the Professional Culture

Anna Underhill

Department of Education, Grand Canyon University

EAD 513: Shaping School Culture

Dr. Lisset Pickens

April 20, 2022

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Reviving the Professional Culture

Scenario Summary

Maynard High School was established two years ago and currently has 1,100 students

from Grades 9-11 with 12th grade being added as this incoming 11th grade class moves up this

upcoming year making the total number of students 1,450. Currently, there are 45 full-time

teachers, and there will be nine more teachers added for the next school year. The school is

staffed with one principal, three assistant principals, three school counselors with one more being

added with the incoming grade level, a receptionist, attendance clerk, and three administrative

assistants.

Not all teachers received an evaluation the previous year, and some evaluations were

given without formal observations. Currently there is curriculum provided, but there is not

consistency with using it within the building. Teacher development days have not been utilized

to their full capacity, and there is a professional development plan that’s provided, but they have

not been offered with consistency. There are currently no learning communities within the

school. There are multiple positions that need to be filled before the beginning of the school year.

A new assistant principal position, a school counselor, and sixteen teaching staff positions. Of

the sixteen teaching positions, seven of them were due to resignations from the previous school

year.

Mission, Vision, and Outcomes

Mission Statement: Maynard High School’s mission is to provide adequate education to

students through the combined efforts of teachers, staff, parents, and the community.
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Vision Statement: Maynard High School’s vision is to inspire student’s passion for learning by

developing a purposeful and meaningful learning environment where everyone feels comfortable

and welcome.

Short-Term Outcomes:

 Begin the development of Professional Learning Communities

 Develop adequate and structured professional development

 Provide routine teacher development days that are used in full capacity

 Hire all areas of the school with proper staffing

Long-Term Outcomes:

 Provide a work environment that nurtures teacher retention

 Begin the process of data collection on state and national tests along with school grades

 Align all curriculum to the highest proficiency to allow for more structure within the

classrooms

Collaborating for Data

Since this is a relatively new school, it is very important to begin the process of data

collection and analyzing the results. Margaret Heritage and Eva Chen, author of “Why Data

Skills Matter in School Improvement,” state, “This step involves gathering existing data or

generating new data to answer the initial research questions, as well as questions that may arise

from the analysis of data. Collection also involves considering the factors that influence data

quality. Because collecting good data is the key to getting credible information” (2005). The first

step is for leadership to provide these data points to the faculty and staff. With the new learning

communities established, this is a perfect time to hone in on those communities and begin the

discussion of the data with those group of teachers first. This will allow leadership and these
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communities to begin building relationships with one another, and it will be the first step with

understanding what data points are important to present to the rest of the staff. After analyzing

the data with leadership and the learning communities, the next important step is to provide the

faculty and staff with the data points and begin coming up with goals. Families will be provided

with overall data points in wording in which they will understand. The data collected that will be

analyzed and reviewed include, but are not limited to, attendance, grades, test scores, and

supplemental scores. The community will be invited to participate in periodic donations of

nutritious snacks that will be given to the students during testing times in order to boost their

stamina during testing. The community’s participation in this will be very integral in providing

the school with an accurate representation of the data because it will allow all students to not go

into testing sessions low on energy or hungry.

Productive Family Relationships

Understanding family’s needs and interests is an important part of making a school

function. Building those relationships with families is a job that is ongoing and requires constant

communication from the school. Linda Taylor and Howard S. Adelman, author of “Connecting

Schools, Families, and Communities” explains “the hope is to better meet the needs of children,

families, and society by improving the effectiveness of schools and service agencies and

hopefully strengthening neighborhoods” by establishing family involvement.

One key aspect of building relationships with families is by providing them various

opportunities to get involved. Administration will have an open-door policy with families and be

there to listen. The principal will communicate with families monthly via a newsletter that will

showcase important topics within the school. Multiple school events will be held to allow for

families to build relationships with school personnel such as an open house, parent teacher
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conferences, sports banquets, and class galleries showcasing student work. A PTA (parent-

teacher association) will be put into effect to allow for parents to be involved in important

aspects of their child’s education. This will also provide teachers with the opportunity to work

alongside parents and to gather interests of both the families and the students.

Productive Community Partnership

Community involvement is an important aspect to a well-functioning school. Mavis G.

Sanders and Karla C. Lewis exclaim, “Perhaps the best measure of a successful high school is

one that can provide for the very diverse needs and interests of its student body, while also

ensuring a certain standard of academic competence for all its students. To do so, high schools

require support from multiple stakeholders, including significant adults in students’ families and

communities” (2005). One way in which the community can be involved which also correlates

with involving the student’s families is by the organization of a PTA. A PTA group allows for

further involvement in the school by providing support for the school and collaboration amongst

school staff and the members. Not only does this allow for the members of the group to build

relationships, but it also allows for different avenues of reaching out to other community

members through connections of the members.

Another way to build community relationships is by providing partnering with local

businesses to provide student internships. These internships would be provided with businesses

that further the students educational career and gets them on the path of success for after high

school. Lastly, the school with partner with local non-profit organizations to provide students

with community service opportunities that will be beneficial to put on college resumes. These

partnerships not only allow the school to better the community, but it provides the students with

opportunities to continue improving themselves through community involvement.

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Public Advocacy

Ensuring that the basic needs of students and families are met is important. The

opportunity to work alongside non-profit organizations is an integral part of providing for our

students and families that are in need. One way that leadership can get involved with providing

for families in need is by periodically running food drives throughout the year. This is especially

important to do around the holidays when families are in need more due to the additional costs.

The mental health of families is important and by providing families with proper food, that

lessens the burden of trying to figure out where their next meal will come from. Another way to

help families in need is by providing a clothing drive. The principal will reach out to the

community for donations that will then be dispersed to families.

At the beginning of the school year, the principal will reach out to the community to ask

for donations that will be utilized for students in need that would like to participate in

extracurricular activities. This money will be utilized to pay for any equipment that may be

needed or cover traveling costs that may be needed. Each student’s education is very important,

and these extracurricular opportunities provide students with the opportunity to improve their

social skills, team building, and overall, their emotional well-being.

Rationale

This upcoming year will be a very busy and exciting year for Maynard High School. This

will be the first year for the school to host all grade levels. Having a school full of competent

staff will be a very important aspect of starting the year off right. Providing adequate

professional development and building relationships amongst the faculty and staff, parents, and

community will be the basis of a successful school. The plan listed above will provide Maynard

High School with the basis of being a successful school that shows compassion and commitment
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to education. Overall, these changes will allow Maynard High School to move forward in a

manner that shows promotes social justice within the school by providing each student with the

opportunity for success.

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References

Heritage, M., & Chen, E. (2005). Why Data Skills Matter in School Improvement. The Phi Delta

Kappan, 86(9), 707–710. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20441885

Sanders, M. G., & Lewis, K. C. (2005). Building Bridges toward Excellence: Community

Involvement in High Schools. The High School Journal, 88(3), 1–9.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40364259

Taylor, L., & Adelman, H. S. (2000). Connecting Schools, Families, and Communities.

Professional School Counseling, 3(5), 298–307. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42732143