ISLLC Standard 1    1 Running Head: ISLLC Standard 1 Group Project
ISLLC Standard 1 Group Project
Christina Aired
Jeff Burgess
Joyce Creed
Jill Morris
Patricia Pearson
Tonya Pettypiece
Mark Summers
Christa Warner
Julie Weinreis
BAD 6013 Elementary School Administration
Dr. Pam Hedgpeth
Southwest Baptist University
June 4, 2003

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Overview
A school administrator is an educational leader who promotes the success of all students by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by the school community.
A successful administrator must have knowledge of learning goals and an understanding of principles of developing and implementing strategic plans. School leaders need to understand systems theory, information sources, data collection, and data analysis strategies. Important skills for a leader with vision are effective communication, consensus-building and negotiation skills. It is important for an administrator to believe in the education of all and in continuous school improvement. The administrator must ensure that students have the knowledge, skills and values needed to become successful adults. A leader with vision is willing to examine his/her own beliefs and practices and does the work required for high levels of personal and organizational performance. The administrator with vision engages in activities that ensure the vision and mission of the school are effectively communicated to staff, parents, students, and the community. This vision is communicated through the use of symbols, ceremonies, stories, and similar activities. Progress towards the vision is communicated to all stake holders and contributions of community members are recognized. It is essential that the core beliefs of the school vision are modeled for stakeholders and the vision shapes the educational programs, plans, and action for the school. An implementation plan is developed to achieve the vision, which has been clearly articulated.

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Theoretical Application
Creating the New American School
This chapter discusses developing a shared vision in order to produce an excellent school. DuFour and Eaker (1992) state that "effective organizations have a shared sense of purpose, a direction, or what the literature on organizational effectiveness commonly refers to as a 'shared vision'" (p. 22). Having a shared vision creates unity among all stakeholders. A shared vision gives all individuals involved the direction to produce an excellent school. A shared vision can guide the school through the development of a successful school improvement programs.
DuFour and Eaker (1992) stress the importance of moving away from the generalities of an excellent school toward specifics that can help move the group toward excellence. In order to be successful in reaching goals, the steps needed to reach the goals must be specifically understood. DuFour and Eaker (1992) state that the vision is the future and not the end. If the members have a vision, then they are motivated to make it a reality.
DuFour and Eaker (1992) state that by using a shared vision, three benefits to a district will generally emerge. The first benefit is that excellence in any field is attainable only if the will, desire, and passion to achieve is present. Secondly, a shared vision gives members of the organization a sense of direction. They will develop a sense of purpose, establish guidelines, and set forth directions. The final benefit to an organization that has a shared vision is that a plan for action is developed.
In the past, research suggested that an excellent school was evident if the students in the school were happy, or in some cases an excellent school was deemed so by the number of college degrees obtained by the staff, the number of books shelved in the library, or the class sizes. More recent research, however, suggests different criteria for schools if they are to be considered excellent. A safe environment, a successfully developed school mission, quality

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instruction and instructors, setting high goals, great amount of time on task, successful and periodic monitoring of student achievement, and relationships between home and school that create positive ties are some of these criteria.
According to DuFour and Eaker (1992), some of the most successful companies use techniques that can be also used in schools to create excellence. These companies have a reputation of working efficiently and learning from the people that they serve. Leaders are nourished with the work they do in the company and employees achieve more because they realize that they are doing quality work. Leaders in successful companies are visible. Flexibility is encouraged; however, there are certain rules and ideals that must be followed.
DuFour and Eaker (1992) state that in order to build a successful vision, all groups within the school should be represented by people that are influential within their respective groups, but who can also see the broad picture when making decisions that affect the whole school. One member of the group should be a key decision maker in the district so that they may offer advice so that the boundaries of the mission are not overstepped. Finally, the principal must show their dedication to the process by chairing the committee. This commitment to the process might help to eliminate the occurrence of problems. It is important that all stakeholders play a role in developing the definition for an excellent school and defining the vision. Through a representative committee, this should be accomplished.

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A Framework for Shared Leadership
According to Lambert (2002) leadership in an instructional setting must be a shared, community undertaking, and becomes the professional work of everyone in the school. Her definition of leadership is based on being responsible for the learning of colleagues. The understanding that learning and leading are linked in the community rests on the assumptions that everyone has the right, responsibility, and ability to be a leader, our definitions of leadership affects participation, and educators seek purpose as professionals.
Lambert offers a new framework for school improvement that she says will produce sustainable school improvement through the development of leadership capacity:
•	Principal and teachers, as well as many parents and students, participate together as
	mutual learners and leaders.
•	Shared vision results in program coherence.
•	Inquiry-based use of information guides decisions and practice.
•	Roles and actions reflect broad involvement, collaboration, and collective responsibility.
•	Reflective practice consistently leads to innovation.
•	Student achievement is high or steadily improving.
Lambert lists several schools have undertaken the work of building leadership capacity to bring about sustainable school improvement. Study groups challenge and integrate thinking, moving to new and collective levels of understanding. Study groups that emerged from a Canadian school inquiry based improvement plan focused on four areas: Building a Learning Community; Teaching for Understanding; Representing, Assessing and Responding; and Access and Management of Resources. An action research team also from a district in Canada published a book that examined the long-range impact of retention, and resulted in alternative interventions to ensure student progress. In vertical learning communities, teacher leaders work closely with students in instruction, curriculum design, discipline, and family relations. Curriculum is focused on student needs, collaborative planning is intensive, and the looping structure creates

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long-term relationships. The Vision Team at a Kansas school joins the principal in analyzing data and planning, monitoring, and implementing the school improvement plan. A volunteer staff in California designs curriculum units, shares ideas and research, and serves as advocates for equitable practices among their colleagues. When a Canadian province issued a mandated standards-based curriculum, an administrator avoided feelings of disempowerment by establishing strong implementation teams supplied with authority, resources, support, and time. The inquiry, innovation, and comparison of curriculum that followed led teachers to identify gaps in their own knowledge and resulted in investigation and experimentation.   An effective principal will construct a shared vision with the school community, initiate communication, focus on student learning, evoke leadership from others, collaborate, question, and facilitate dialogue concerning the many roles of educational leadership.
Creative and Innovative Approaches
1.   Lead individual school in process of creating district vision at building level. (Staff Meeting)
a.   Objective: To create a district vision at the building level, (adapted version from Dr. Ron Mclntire)
i.   The staff will number off in to six to seven groups
1.   A recorder and reporter need to be assigned within each group
ii.   Each group needs to cooperatively write the important elements that the
vision should contain.
iii.   Number the elements in order of importance iv.   The reporter for each group will present the elements in order of
importance v.   A single vision statement will be composed by using the most important
elements from each group. This will be voted on by the staff as a whole, vi.   The vision of the school will be effectively communicated to staff,
parents, students, and community members by being published in the
school handbook, school website, school newsletter, and by the staff and
faculty's actions.
2.   Participate in district-level strategic planning process that includes community members, school staff, and students. (Principal Advisory Committee)
3.   Plan a schedule of events to pass a school bond issue.

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Summary
Overview- Joyce Creed
Theoretical application- Mark Summers, Jeff Burgess, and Jill Morris
Creative and innovative approaches- Tonya Pettypiece, Julie Weinreis, and Christina Aired
Written Summary- Tricia Pearson
Presentation- Christa Warner
PowerPoint presentation- Tricia Pearson

ISLLC Standard 1    9 References
DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (1992). Creating the New American School. Bloomington, Indiana: National Education Service.
Lambert, L. (2002). A Framework for Shared Leadership. Educational Leadership, (vol. 59, number 8, pp. 37-40).
Uchiyama, Kay, & Wolf, Shelby Anne (May 2002).  The Best Way to Lead Them. Educational Leadership (vol.59, number 8, pp. 80-83).