Reviving the Professional Culture

Sierra Dollar

College of Education, Grand Canyon University

EAD-513-10770: Shaping School Culture

Jim Hattabaugh

August 10, 2022

 Reviving the Professional Culture

Summary of Existing School Culture

The Master Candidate is the newly appointed Principal at Smyrna High School. Smyrna

High school is beginning their second year of being open. In their first year they serve around

1,100 students but expect around 1,400 students for the current school year. There is currently 45

teaching positions, 9 addition positions being added and 7 are leaving the school prior to the start

of the year. The school has experienced some turmoil in their first year. The principal and one

assistant principal resigned mid-year causing district staff to cover. Some teachers have reported

they did not get evaluated and some even said evaluations were forged without formal

observations. The Master Candidate anticipates that the school climate will be challenging as

many are feeling under trained and underappreciated. She has created the following plan to

create a positive school climate.

School Mission and Vision Statements

Mission: At Smyrna High School we prepare our students to succeed by providing highly quality

instruction that engages students to become lifelong learners.

Vision: Our vision is to prepare every student for life long success being educated, kind, well

rounded students.

The Master Candidate plans to begin with the original school mission and vision

statements. However, she early in the school year will develop a committee that will review the

mission and vision statement and make changes that fit the schools’ current goals. The Master

Candidate would do this because it is her belief that the school community should contribute to

these statements. In addition, if these stakeholders help to develop the mission and vision
statements, they are more likely to understand the values behind them. Furthermore, the Master

Candidate would encourage key terms to be used and their importance. During her research, the

Master Candidate found that “in mission statements of high performing schools were more likely

to include the themes of Academic Success, Challenge, Citizenship, Empower, Partnership, and

Social Development than were the mission statements of low performing schools” (Slate, J. R.,

Jones, C. H., Wiesman, K., Alexander, J., & Saenz, T 2008). The Master Candidate would

continue to enlighten her committee with the research she found and encourage that the mission

and vision statements hold these values.

Long and Short-Term Goals and Outcomes

The Master Candidate understands the importance of setting achievable goals. It can be

challenging when transitioning to a completely new school and or community to set these goals.

Upon arriving to Smyrna High School, the Master Candidate will quickly select a committee of

teachers, students, admin and community member to build and develop new and fitting mission

and vision statements. The outcome of this goal is that the school will develop new mission and

vision statements that will be used in every classroom. Another goal of the Master Candidate is

to create several committees. Through these committees that Master Candidate will rely on to

make significant changes. For example, one outcome of this goal will be a parent involvement

committee. This committee will work together to identify areas that the school can encourage

and develop more parent involvement. In the long term the Master Candidate will work to

identify what professional developments will specifically help her teachers and staff to grow in

their profession. The outcome of this goal is that teachers feel that they are attending quality and

necessary professional developments. In addition, the professional developments will help to

direct support student achievement and will align with the school’s mission and vision
statements. Another long-term goal the Master Candidate has for Smyrna High School is to

research data trends of student achievement. With it being only the second year, the school has

been open it can be challenging to identify the data trends. However, over time the Master

Candidate will continue to collect data and identify where students need most support. The

outcome of this goal will be that students are receiving high quality instruction based on their

individualized needs.

Plan to Work Collaboratively to Collect, Analyze, and Communicate Path to Improve the

Educational Environment and Student-Centered Culture

The Master Candidate is aware that first impressions are crucial and that expectations need to

be known and maintained. In order to this the Master Candidate would first begin with her

welcome back from summer email. Frequently, principals will email staff in the last few days

before the end of summer break to notify teachers how their preplanning or prep days will be laid

out. Therefore, in this email the Master Candidate would be through and address information

such as professional learnings, welcome new staff and discuss her eagerness to join the amazing

Smyrna High team. The Master Candidate then would have a faculty meeting at the start of the

first day. The Master Candidate would provide breakfast and refreshments to the staff during this

time. The Master Candidate would also attempt to have a strong community organization host

the breakfast. This would additionally help for the principal to relate to the school community

and for community members to be engaged in the school. During this faculty meeting the Master

Candidate would discuss any perinate district updates, her expectations for all stakeholders and

the school’s vision and mission statements. The Master Candidate also acknowledges that when
speaking with staff that may feel negatively about affect the school her would need to be positive

and share a passion for education.

The next steps the Master Candidate would take on is the schools’ systems for

communication. The Master Candidate would have an open-door policy and encourage staff to

call or email if they ever have questions. In addition to this, the Master Candidate would create a

live Office 365 folder. This folder would be accessible to anyone at school and would keep

documents the staff may need (ie school calendar, master schedule, special area rotations). The

Master Candidate would introduce this in order to have more fluid communication throughout

the school. In addition to this, the Master Candidate would evaluate the schools currently way to

communicate with parents. The Master Candidate would introduce connect ed phone calls and

texts. The Master Candidate would do this to have more direct communication with parents and

caregivers.

Plan to Respond to Interests of Students and Families to Build and Sustain Positive

School Relationships

It is vital for principal to relate to the interest of student and the community. This can be

more simplistic in the high school setting by attending extracurricular events. The Master

Candidate recounts that her principal in high school made an attempt to attend several swim

meets (as well as other sports and activities). When the principal arrived the energy of the

crowd often changed and felt as if a celebrity was attending. While reflecting on this the

Master Candidate acknowledges how this small act really helped to engage many students to

feel that the principal cared about their accomplishments both in and out of school. In addition,

this act allows principals to communicate with teachers dedicating their time, parents
supporting their students and community members who are supporting the school. School

stakeholders should have a important part in the community and should be known throughout.

In addition to attending extra-curricular events the Master Candidate would also plan

several ways to engage community members, parents, and caregivers. One suggestion the

Master Candidate would suggest would be a math and science night. For this the Master

Candidate would ask local community member for support or sponsorship. Nearby Smyrna

High school is a Marine Discovery Center. The MDC is eager to host demonstrations and to

engage the school in learning about marine life. The Master Candidate would have the MDC

help with science night as well. Furthermore, the Master Candidate would elaborate on events

such as homecoming week and teachers versus student events. The Master Candidate would do

this in order to build a positive sense of school community and teamwork.

Plan to Respond to Community Interests to Build Sustained Productive School

Relationships with Community Partners

A school’s relationship to the community and to businesses is critical for the success of

a school. A school’s relationship with the community and business is also a symbiotic

relationship. Both parties should feel as though there is a return on their investment. With this

information in mind the Master Candidate has created a plan on how to gain and maintain

community support. One way the Master Candidate plans to do this is by allowing a church

that is asking to rent out the school facility on Sundays. This will build many more

relationships with the school while financially benefiting as well. The church that is seeking to

rent part of the school has offered to pay $1,000 a month as well as willing to partner with the

school for supplies for teacher and students as well as provide resources to parents in need. The

Master Candidate plans to have a district lawyer to assist in drawing up a contract and accept
the church using the school on Sundays only. In addition, the Master Candidate would also

contact local real estate companies in the area. She will propose that if they wish to come bring

lunch to the school once a quarter during that time, they can advertise in the school lounge

area. The Master Candidate would vet these realtors and find out what discounts or support

they can offer teachers who are looking to buy a house. The Master Candidate would do this in

an effort to build positive relationships both with the community and with the teachers. The

final step in the Master Candidates plan is to allow local businesses to purchase a sign to be

hung on the front of the school fence. This would benefit the school financially as well as

promote local business and continue to build those community partnership.

Plan for Public Advocacy for Needs and Priorities of Students, Families and Community

Due to the current negative climate that is affecting Smyrna High School the Master

Candidate will need to prepare to advocate for the needs of the students. The Master Candidate

would hypothesis that the school struggled in their first year due to a lack of advocacy of the

needs of a new school. Therefore, the Master Candidate would combat this by attending district

meetings as well as school board meetings. In these meetings the Master Candidate would

advocate strongly for the specific needs of her school community. Currently, Smyrna High

School does not have the proper technology to engage students in this form of learning.

Therefore, the Master Candidate during budgeting discussions will press and advocate for an

increase in technology and site the benefits it can have in students’ education.

In addition, the Master Candidate will advocate for the diverse needs of the families in

her community by seeking out resources to help parents in need. The Master Candidate will do

this by asking the schools business partners to help in bringing in supplies at the beginning of

the year, so parents do not have to purchase supplies. Furthermore, the Master Candidate will
help parents who discuss they need assistance by partnering them up with local community

leaders who can help financially, with childcare or ever social emotionally to the parents in

need. The Master Candidate would also allocate one staff position to parent liaison. This

position would help to find the greatest needs of the community and work with community

leaders to help. The Master Candidate would do this not only to help her school and

community but establish that Smyrna High school is a family and will work together to solve

any problem.

Plan of Action Rationale

The Master Candidate had to contemplate many different components when

brainstorming a plan for Smyrna High school. One key component is the mission and vision

statement. The Master Candidate really considered where the school is currently and where she

believed it could be. The Master Candidate wanted it to be student focus and particularly

expecting high student achievement. According to School Mission Statements and School

Performance “School success requires a written mission statement which all professional staff

incorporate into their daily curricular activities” (Slate, J. R., Jones, C. H., Wiesman, K.,

Alexander, J., & Saenz, T. 2008). The Master Candidate feels as though her mission and vision

statements are universal and can be implemented in a multitude of daily activities. The Master

Candidate also thoroughly thought how she will attempt to change the school culture to be

positive and student centered. The Master Candidate believes that quickly establishing the

culture she expects and promotes. Furthermore, the Master Candidates plan outlines how she

will establish her expectations of students learning and how she will help teachers accomplish

goals. The Master Candidate understands that throughout the first year in a challenging school

such as this she will experiences highs and lows. However, one crucial component she will
maintain throughout the school year is that she is there for the community, and she understands

the importance of her work. The Master Candidate will discuss this in order to continue to

promote a positive school climate. The Master Candidate also discussed the importance of

supporting students. One significant way the Master Candidate will accomplish this is through

attending a multitude of extra-curricular activities. The Master Candidate incorporated this into

her plan for Smyrna High School not only because of her own recounts in school but also due

to her research in the overwhelming benefit in extra curricular activities. According to the

article Profiles of Motivation for Participating in Extracurricular Activities Among Students at

Disadvantaged High Schools “promoting continued participation among disadvantaged

students might be especially important since prior studies have shown that it can make a

difference in their school perseverance” (Denault, A.-S., Litalien, D., Plamondon, A., Dupéré,

V., Archambault, I., & Guay, F. 2022). With this research in mind the Master Candidate feels

that in promoting extra-curricular activities not only will she be supporting students but also

benefiting the school culture in addition. The Master Candidate continued her plans for Smyrna

High School to how she will engage and support the community. The Master Candidate

believes that in engaging business and community leaders to support the school it will in return

direct support the school climate. The Master Candidate also purposely targeted for her plan to

help not only the school but students as well. With community members helping to donate

supplies and support students and parents. The Master Candidate created these changes in

hopes to directly support student achievement, raise the school climate and to support teachers

and staff. The Master Candidate reviewed Professional Standards for Educational Leaders

(PSEL) specifically standard 8d which states “Create and sustain positive, collaborative, and

productive relationships with families and the community for the benefit of students (National
Policy Board for Educational Administration 2015). The Master Candidate reflects on how she

will sustain the positive relationships with community members to continue to benefit students.

She will use good communication and use faculty and staff who have positive relationship with

community members to act as a liaison between them and the school and to continue to

promote positive relationships.

 References:

Slate, J. R., Jones, C. H., Wiesman, K., Alexander, J., & Saenz, T. (2008). School Mission

Statements and School Performance: A Mixed Research Investigation. New Horizons in

Education, 56(2), 17–27.

Denault, A.-S., Litalien, D., Plamondon, A., Dupéré, V., Archambault, I., & Guay, F. (2022).

Profiles of motivation for participating in extracurricular activities among students at

disadvantaged high schools. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 80.

https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2022.101421

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

Educational Leaders 2015. Reston, VA.

https://www.npbea.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Professional-Standards-for-

Educational-Leaders_2015.pd